


the great divide

by DarlingImaWriter



Series: the great divide universe [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, F/F, Romance, Romantic Soulmates, Smut, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, bruh this is pretty toxic for most of the fic, smut later on, so like be aware
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:41:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 41,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26934535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarlingImaWriter/pseuds/DarlingImaWriter
Summary: Who knew that eight words would be your undoing. If you had known then what you know now you wouldn’t have signed up for Suyin’s dance troupe, you probably would have left Zaofu just to be safe. But you didn’t and fate had branded you with a path that chained you to someone who would break your heart.
Relationships: Kuvira (Avatar) & Reader, Kuvira (Avatar)/Reader
Series: the great divide universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988659
Comments: 17
Kudos: 142





	1. part one

**Author's Note:**

> so uh just a few things to note, I came up with this idea before watching the last three episodes of lok (which I feel like really show who Kuvira truly is) and it’s not a healthy relationship. Please note that no one should treat you like this, and if so either ditch them or go to therapy with them (altho I’d advise you ditch them). Also a massive thanks to medeliadracon (on tumblr) the first chapter was rough because I wrote it at like 3 am and they helped me work out the kinks by being my beta reader.

**“Would you mind helping me memorize the routine?”** You ask one of the dancers that Suyin had pointed you to. You recently joined and unfortunately, they were already in the middle of rehearsing a routine they’d been perfecting for weeks. Usually, Suyin would help you after class but with Avatar Korra visiting she was too busy. Thankfully she had pointed out one of your fellow dancers, a woman named Kuvira. “Suyin usually helps me but she said you would probably be happy to take her place." 

Kuvira stands in shock as she stares you down, you’d just said those eight magical words that she used to dream about when she was little and you seemed to have no clue what you’d just done. You’re staring at her expectantly and as time lapses on you start to look a little nervous under her gaze. 

**“It would bring me great pleasure”** Kuvira replies and takes a step closer, your eyes widen in shock, a flush dusting your cheeks as she replies with your six magic words. Kuvira toys with a strand of your hair as she looks deep into your eyes. Her voice is deep and traps you like honey. “We should begin.” 

After that day, Kuvira always volunteered to help teach you after class, neither of you spoke about the elephant in the room as she’d place her hands on your body to correct your position and brush herself against you any chance she got. You’d leave every session a flustered mess who’d go home to flop onto your bed with a massive grin on your face 

In the last session before the big performance, you were dancing in sync with one another. You were each on a metal flower petal directly across from the other and were meant to be the final act. With the class, you had performed the whole thing and aced it but alone you could only practice half the routine as the ending needed other metal benders to move the petals for you. 

So instead you and Kuvira practiced the aerial portion of the routine that would take place directly before the petals would move. With just the two of you instead of the whole class, you spun closer together and once you were within reach Kuvira grabbed your waist with her free hand and pulled you in close so she could lock you in a passionate kiss. 

You widen your eyes in shock, staying still for a moment as you process this overwhelming moment before pressing your lips against hers in return. You both gently land on the floor but Kuvira doesn’t let you go, instead, her other hand grabs the back of your neck to steady you as she hungrily kisses you like you might just disappear any moment and it takes your breath away. 

Slowly, Kuvira pulls away from your lips but keeps you pulled close to her body, she stares deeply into your eyes as if searching for something, maybe disapproval? She won’t find any though because you want to stay here in her arms forever. 

Her hand that was originally holding the back of your neck pulls away and bends the petals of the flowers upwards so they surround you both and offer cover from the outside world. “Do you want to stop?” She leans down to nibble on your earlobe and whispers those words to you. Her hand that was on your waist and traveling up your body, skimming the underside of your breasts as she waits for your answers. “Well?” 

“N-No, Kuvira please” you beg, something inside her is unleashed at your words and she pulls you back into a crushing kiss while she slides a hand under your shirt to feel your bare skin. 

“Lay down,” she says in a commanding tone that leaves no room for argument, you happily oblige and immediately pull away from her. The chill of the metal against your warm skin sends goosebumps down your arms and the look Kuvira is giving you from above makes you feel even hotter. 

She straddles your hips and slides both of her hands underneath your waist, running them up to your sides and under your breasts before pulling them away to pull your shirt off, you lean up off the metal to make it easier for her and she flings somewhere behind her. Kuvira puts both her hands on your shoulders and gently pushes you back down so your bareback and shoulders are against the cold metal. 

She threads her fingers through your hair and scratches at your scalp as she leans back down to kiss you once more. You moan at the blissful feeling of her warm body against your own and her nails on your scalp, giving her perfect access to your open mouth. You’ve never felt anything like this before, you’d decided to wait for your soulmate to share your first kiss, your first time and the wait was entirely worth it. 

You give yourself to each other in the dance studio that night, whilst Kuvira doesn’t coddle you she does gently guide you and give you praise when you do something right. You feel so in tune with her now as you curl your naked body against her own. She wraps an arm around your waist to tug you closer as you both try to catch your breath from the mind-blowing activity you just partook in. 

You’re about to tell her how much you like her, how excited you are to discover more about her when she beats you to the punch, “I think we should keep this to ourselves for now.” You sharply pull away from her, your brows pinched together in confusion. Your heart feels the first pinprick of heartache Kuvira will give you. “What? But we’re soulmates, why should we keep this a secret?” 

Kuvira rolls her eyes and sits up to face you. “I just want us to be able to cherish this thing between us as it grows. If we tell everyone suddenly we’ll be bombarded with questions that will only stress us out.” 

Your shoulders sag as you think about it, you don’t want to keep this a secret. All your life you dreamed of the day you’d meet your soulmate, the day you could have someone to hold hands with in public and go on dates with, maybe even kiss in the botanical gardens. 

“I guess…” you gulp, “if it’s only for a while then I guess it can remain a secret.” 

_Oh, how you wish you could take that back after everything that is about to happen._

* * *

A few weeks later is the grand opening (which had to be postponed whilst Suyin and her army were gone to help Avatar Korra) of the dance troupes performance, you feel like you might vomit and suddenly the last thing you want to do is go up there just so you can mess it up. Especially since you and Kuvira are the final act, twisting your legs together in the air as you each balance on your other foot so the flower can unfold around you. 

That flower has caused you so much trouble since that night with Kuvira, throughout the dress rehearsal the night before you kept messing up anytime you so much as touched the metal because your thoughts became consumed by her and what you both had done. 

You hadn’t had many moments alone since but in the locker room after the dress rehearsal, Kuvira had let her hand brush against your naked back as you changed into clean clothes after your shower and suddenly you were set alight with that same fire she ignited the other night. 

You must look like you’re unwell because Suyin comes into view and she places her hands on your shoulders to give them a reassuring squeeze. “You can do this y/n, I believe you,” she says in an encouraging tone. 

“I wish you didn’t, what if I mess up?” 

“People mess up sometimes, all you have to do is pick yourself back up and try again. You can’t be too hard on yourself y/n, I’ve seen how you’ve really changed these last few practices. Those private lessons with Kuvira must have helped” she drops her hands from your shoulders and gives you a bright smile before rushing off, claiming she has to check on the lights. 

You flush at her words, Kuvira’s lessons did help… sort of. One of the stagehands calls out that it’s time and you walk over to the stage entrance. On the other side of the stage stands Kuvira with half of the dancers behind her. She simply holds your gaze for a minute before the curtain draws and the dance must begin. You force down any thoughts you get of that night as you perform the routine and it’s going so well, when it gets to the part where the flower closes around you guys you suddenly feel too exposed and scandalized. Despite your thoughts Kuvira still hooks her foot with your own, she sends a small smile your way that calms you just a bit as the flower begins to bloom once more. 

The crowd erupts into applause and whistles as flowers are thrown onto the stage, you and Kuvira unhook your feet and bow with the rest of the troupe before exiting the stage for the next talent to take the stage, it was some new instrument a student had metal bent, something called a harp. 

Everyone begins to hug one another and congratulate them, Suyin pulls you into a quick side hug and softly says “I told you that you could do it.” It feels good to have her say that, to know that she’s right and despite being new to this you did well enough to not humiliate yourself. Other people begin to crowd the backstage as dancers’ family members and friends come to congratulate them and offer them bouquets. 

Your parents rush up to pull you into a tight hug that knocks the wind out of you, they shower you in praises and your mom kisses the top of your head before pulling away. “You did amazing, y/n. We’re both so proud of you” your dad says as he hands you a bouquet of lotuses. You’re about to call over Kuvira to introduce her as a friend and to tell your parents about how much she helped you but the sight in front of you kills the words that were on the tip of your tongue. 

Baatar Jr. has his arm wrapped around Kuvira’s waist as he offers her a bouquet and gives her this wide smile. “Junior, why didn’t you tell us?” You hear Suyin say in a betrayed tone. Baatar Sr. has a hand on Suyin’s shoulder as he looks disapprovingly at the couple in front of him. 

“I knew you guys would overreact! Kuvira and I are in love. I hope you both realize how important she is to me.” Baatar Jr. spits out, Kuvira places a hand on his chest to settle him down and flashes the two parents a smile. 

“I was hoping you both would approve of us.” You can’t stand there and watch anymore as she flaunts her relationship in front of you like you don’t matter. 

“I’m a bit tired from the performance, I think I’m gonna head home,” you tell your parents, trying not to let them know how badly you’re hurting. 

“Oh well, we wanted to take you out to dinne-” 

“Maybe tomorrow, I think I just wanna take a shower and go to sleep,” you say before walking off. Your parents share a look of concern as they watch your retreating figure. In a matter of seconds, your once overjoyed demeanor turned to something melancholic. 

Once out of the building you walk to the botanical gardens knowing that at this time of night no one is there, your parents will probably return home soon and you don’t want to worry them with your crying. You find a spot tucked away from sight behind a bunch of sunflowers and lean your back against the tree. 

You’re so confused, she’s your soulmate and yet she’s with someone else. Baatar Jr. said they were in love which must mean they’ve been together for some time. She never mentioned him to you. Suddenly the desire to keep your relationship a secret makes sense and you feel stupid for playing along. 

At least an hour passes as you cry out all your emotions until you’re just sitting there numbly trying to figure out what to do next. A crunch of a leaf can be heard from in front of you and your head snaps up and away from your lap. Kuvira is standing there, she’s changed out of her dancing clothes and is in a casual outfit now, you look away from her, unable to look at her first without crying again. 

“He wasn’t meant to tell them tonight,” she confesses and you scoff. Is that supposed to make you feel better?

“What are you doing Kuvira? W-We’re soulmates and yet you’re with this guy despite telling me I had to keep us a secret.” You stand from your spot and your muscles ache from sitting in that uncomfortable position for so long, you try to ignore her as you go to walk away but she grabs your forearm as you go to pass her. 

“I don’t love him,” she admits “but I need him for something and the only way he’ll do it is if he thinks I do.” You rear your head back in shock, what in the world is going on. 

“What could you possibly want from him? A seat at the Beifong family table!?” You shout and Kuvira aggressively shushes you. You rip your arm out of her grasp but stay still as you wait to hear what she’ll say next. 

“After the earth queen’s death the earth kingdom is in disarray and Suyin won’t step up to help those who are suffering. Junior has inventions that can help us rebuild these impoverished towns and cities so we can bring them back to their former glory.” Kuvira sighs, her palm going to rub at her forehead “he won’t go against his mother unless we’re together, I can’t let those people have their homes ransacked by raiders and be left to starve when we can make a difference.” 

“So you’re… manipulating him” you murmur, Kuvira’s eyes narrow a bit at your words and she takes a step closer to you, you stumble back until your back hits the tree behind you and Kuvira keeps walking until she’s against you. Her hands go to rest above your head as she looks into your eyes. 

“I’m pushing him in the right direction. I want to leave soon to start and I want you to come with,” she moves one of her hands to grasp your chin when you try to look away from her and says “we all have to make sacrifices for this cause, y/n. Mine is playing pretend with him and yours is having to keep us a secret.” 

Your eyes water at the idea, you don’t want to leave Zaofu behind. Your parents are here and you think you might want to pursue a career in dancing. Kuvira grips your chin just a fraction tighter and brings her lips to yours. It’s a deep, slow kiss and suddenly you’re consumed with her just like the other day in the dance studio. You moan as she lightly tugs at your bottom lip as she pulls away from you, she lets go of it and you can feel it swell a bit from her actions. You slowly open your eyes back up and she’s giving you this intense look that has your knees weak. 

“Please, I want you there with me,” she says in a husky tone that has you nodding in agreement, she grins before pulling you back into a kiss, this one is far more heated than the last.

_You wish you’d said no._

* * *

_“I think we should keep this to ourselves for now.”_

For now turned into a year, once the train tracks were built Bolin along with Varrick and Zhu Li joined your cause. In front of everyone, Kuvira played the role of not only being the compassionate leader but also the love of Baatar’s life. Yeah, he no longer went by Baatar Jr. Kuvira convinced him to drop the honorific. 

Behind closed doors, late at night when everyone was asleep Kuvira would come and visit you, most times you guys would passionately make love as she took charge but sometimes, and these times were your favorite, she’d lay in bed beside you and talk about all you guys would do once your mission was over. “We could get married,” you whispered one night and Kuvira pulled you in a slow, sweet kiss before murmuring against your lips “you’d look good in white.” 

Right now those sweet moments are far from your mind though as Baatar hands Kuvira a file in the main cabin of the train where meetings are held, he places a hand on her waist and you look away as you try to push down the anger bubbling within you. You were about to stop in a rather large town that had fallen on hard times, as all had. And if all goes well you might need to take a moment for yourself. This train was starting to feel suffocating and you were this close to metal bending the roof open.

The train lurches to a stop, sending Bolin almost off the couch opposite you, he grips the back of it to keep from falling flat on his face and you grab the armrest to your right. As always, Kuvira is the only one who seems to remain unaffected, she stumbles back two steps before regaining her balance and squaring her shoulders. 

“We’re here,” she says in her normal calm voice before heading to the door to step outside. The town is surrounded by lush greenery and towering trees. The buildings tower to three stories and market stalls are lining the streets. It looks like it was once a hub, maybe a stopping point for travelers, but now there are holes in some of the buildings from raiders and the market stalls have been torn apart. All of the citizens are waiting for them at the entrance of the city and you note how tired and thin they look. 

“Woah, looks like we are definitely needed here” Bolin mutters beside you. As Kuvira talks to the mayor in private, you all begin to load up carts and trucks with crates of food, they always give into her eventually so there wasn’t much point in waiting. The meeting between the two takes an hour and a half, when the mayor walks off the train he wears a look of defeat and Kuvira saunters out with that same air of confidence that makes you wonder if she was born with it. 

She walks over to you and signals for the men beside you to start giving out the crates of food and supplies. “Another small victory,” she mutters. 

“If anything I’d say it’s a big one, this is a large province and this town is the only one in it. Not only that but it’s a hub for trading and travelers, having this under our belt is helpful.” You look into her eyes and notice that same dissatisfied look she gets any time someone praises her. “This is good, Vira.” 

“I told you not to call me that in public,” her tone is scolding and she looks away so she doesn’t have to see the disappointment in your eyes. Whilst everyone thought you two were close friends she was still worried about someone figuring it out and telling Baatar. He was too oblivious to figure it out himself but quite a few times she caught Zhu Li looking between the two of you when you’re deep in conversation. “Besides, I won’t be happy until we’ve united the entire earth kingdom. “ 

You bite your lip as another one of those oh too familiar aches in your heart. It feels like someone has gotten a needle and aggressively stabbed at the center of it. “I’m going to go help,” you say before walking away, she doesn’t call after you or even say goodbye 

Later, once all the supplies are given out, the townspeople decide to celebrate in the main square, live music is being played as everyone dances and laughs. Kuvira usually makes a short appearance to things like this just to make everyone happy before heading back to the train. Usually, you trail behind her along with Baatar while Bolin and Varrick tend to stay for an extra hour or two. Most of the time they stumble in drunk and loudly shush one another. 

“C’mon y/n, just stay a while longer!” Bolin shouts over the music, he gives you another cup of alcohol, a part of you doesn’t want to. You’ve never stayed behind to celebrate after Kuvira heads back and you wonder if that means she won’t show up in your room as per usual. But it’s just one extra hour… 

You take the cup from Bolin’s hand and down it, causing him to cheer. The alcohol burns down your throat and you cough from taking it all at once. Varrick saddles up beside him and slaps his hand on the young earth bender’s shoulder. “What are we getting excited about?” 

“Y/n’s actually gonna stay and party!” Bolin shouts, you fill the cup back up and take a sip. You haven’t been drunk since Zaofu, you deserve this break. “Wait, you’re telling me y/n isn’t a stick in the mud? Well, that’s the shock of the century!” Varrick replies you roll your eyes at his comment, trying to not let it bother you. You could be fun, you were fun before everything happened. 

“Let’s dance!” You shout and finish up your drink before setting it on the table to head to the designated area for dancing. You thought of the studio back in Zaofu, how freeing it felt, and how you had felt like you’d finally found your calling. Bolin cheers you on as he dances beside you and Varrick keeps making ridiculous comments about the parties he used to throw back in republic city. You make out the words platypus bear and skiing at one point but decide to not ask him to explain what the hell he’s talking about. 

An hour passes, maybe two, before the three of you are stumbling back to the train. You haven’t had this much fun in so long and your cheeks hurt from laughing. You’re warm from the alcohol despite the cool breeze brushing up against your skin and at some point, you took your jacket off to keep from sweating. You weren’t meant to be out of uniform when out of your room but it was late at night and you didn’t think much of it. 

When you guys climbed up the steps to the train and entered the main compartment Bolin began to loudly talk about how much he missed his soulmate, Opal. Suddenly your bright mood dimmed at the fact that you couldn’t talk about your soulmate to anyone, but your mood was truly ruined when Bolin said, “y’know one-day y/n, you’re gonna meet your soulmate and it’s gonna feel amazing just you wait!” 

You forced out a chuckle before softly bidding them goodnight and walking off to your room, you heard Bolin ask Varrick if he said something wrong but you were too far away to hear his reply. When you opened your door a part of you hoped Kuvira would be inside, but she wasn’t. Your shoulders slumped as you kicked off your boots before falling into bed. You didn’t bother with undoing your updo or changing into proper sleeping clothes. 

When you wake up you are alone, usually, Kuvira would wake up before the sun rose and leave but not before kissing your forehead and whispering that she loved you. It was always a great way to start your day but today you were alone. You got dressed and fixed your mess of hair before exiting your room to head down towards the dining cart.

Your room was right beside Kuvira’s which was beside Zhu Li’s and then it was Baatars, Bolin’s was on the other side of your room. Thankfully the walls were thick though so you didn’t have to worry about him hearing you and Kuvira late at night.

The door to Baatar’s room opens, but instead of the young engineer walking out, Kuvira does, she’s in her uniform from yesterday which you can tell because there’s a few wrinkles and her hair is down. She makes eye contact with you before heading to her room and without thinking you follow after her. Technically you aren’t allowed in her room for appearance reasons but your heart is racing and you need her to reassure you that what you just saw wasn’t what you thought it was. 

You close the door after you, trying not to slam it but you desperately want to. “What were you doing in there?” you ask and part of you internally cringes at how you sound. It’s obvious in your tone how hurt you are, how confused. Kuvira simply begins to undress from her old clothes and takes her time formulating a reply.

“He was getting suspicious of my lack of affection for him,” is her reply. You back up until your knees hit the edge of her bed and fall into a sitting position. “So you…” you gulp, “slept with him?” 

“I did what needed to be done. Besides, you weren’t here last night,” she spits out. By now she’s in her underwear which would usually cause you to flush but right now your vision is blurring from tears and you feel bile rising from your throat but it’s not due to last night. “So what, it was some kind of way to get back at me for letting loose for once?!” 

Kuvira whirls around to glare at you, she has a pair of pants on now and she stalks over to you like you’re her prey until she’s between your legs. She roughly grabs your chin to make sure you keep eye contact with her and she says “so me fucking you senseless isn’t enough to alleviate the stress from the day before?” 

Your heart races, “Vira…” You aren’t sure if you like this part of her, in a fucked up way it’s kind of hot but it’s also terrifying and you feel so small. “If you disobey me or humiliate me again you’ll be punished the same way you were last night. If you are to one day become my wife you’ll need to start working on your image and getting drunk in public isn’t a good look.” 

She lets go of your chin and swiftly walks back over to her closet to finish getting dressed. “You may leave.” Her tone doesn’t leave any room for argument so you blink away the tears threatening to spill from your eyes before promptly leaving your lover’s room. Suddenly you’ve lost your appetite so you head back to your room where you plan on spending the rest of your day, As you go to open your door, Bolin sluggishly opens his own and walks into the bright hallway with a groan. 

You look away from him but not in time as he notices your red eyes and the tears threatening to spill, he steps forward, a look of concern taking over his features but you quickly enter your room and slam the door shut behind you. 

_You miss home._


	2. part two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you @medeliadracon (on tumblr) for beta reading this for me.

_ “For now” _

turned into two and a half years. You had slipped up a few times causing Kuvira to punish you by leaving you alone for the night and each time you did you became more cautious with your actions. 

One time a young man around your age had started to flirt with you while you handed out supplies, you tried to politely brush him off but he didn’t seem to get the message so he kept persisting until finally Bolin intervened and said Kuvira needed you to grab more crates from the train. 

Another time you had blown up on Baatar when he tried to kiss Kuvira in front of everyone, she wasn’t much for public displays and you knew she would have stopped him if you hadn’t but your fuse was short that day and you paid the price. After that first night of celebration, Bolin and Varrick expected you to join them at the next town but you politely declined and even left earlier than Kuvira did. It felt like there were too many ways to mess up and you grew anxious about all the ways you may upset her. 

Varrick took back his remark about you being fun, which hurt a little bit, and after a few times Bolin gave up on asking. You still missed dancing and that night reignited the passion you had for it so on days spent travelling you’d practice either in your room or in the gym, depending on how many people were already in there.

You hadn’t mentioned your desire to pick up classes again once you got back to Zaofu. A part of you was worried that she’d get angry about it and punish you once more so you decided to wait until you were married, she wouldn’t be able to hold him over your head like that anymore.

On days like today where the need to talk about work has come to a short lull and therefore Baatar fills it by talking to your soulmate, you have to remind yourself that one day you’ll get to hold her hand in front of everyone and proclaim she’s yours. You try to bury your nose in a book about chi blocking (you picked it up in the previous town and it was pretty fascinating) to distract yourself and for a few chapters it works, but when Baatar and Kuvira enter her office alone, the words on the paper become a jumbled mess and you can’t take sitting nearby as you envision what they may be doing. 

You doubt she’d do something salacious with him during the daytime where someone could walk in, but you also didn’t think she’d sleep with him at all and look how that went. You slam the book down on the coffee table, effectively scaring Bolin awake who had fallen asleep on the couch across from you, and storm off to the gym. 

You weren’t much for combat of any kind but suddenly you felt like hitting something, dancing wouldn’t do. So you changed into a pair of sweatpants and a white tank top and walked over to where there were rolls of bandages meant for your knuckles. 

You begin punching at the punching bag hooked up to the ceiling of the train, it’s a bit pathetic seeing as you can’t even seem to make the bag move a little bit but you keep going, keep pouring all of your stress and heartache into each punch. 

“Wow,” comes a voice from behind you, you look over your shoulder and see Bolin leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. “What's pissed you off?” You shrug and hit two more times at the bag, your sweating and you’ve only been doing this for a few minutes, the muscles you had were meant for elegant strides, not uppercuts. 

“Just woke up on the wrong side of the bed I guess.” You lie through your teeth and you know he can tell, so to try and distract him you ask “will you spar with me? Maybe teach me a thing or two about holding my own?” He stays quiet for a minute as he looks at you, as if trying to see how you're doing, you try your best to shove everything rising within you down. “Well?” 

“Okay, I guess I should probably make sure I’m not rusty in case we get attacked or something.” He takes his jacket off then wraps his knuckles in the bandages. You spread your legs until they are aligned with your shoulders and hold up your fists. Bolin is good, far better than you which isn’t a surprise seeing as he’s fought numerous battles whilst all you’ve done is read and dance throughout your whole life.

In Zaofu it was common to join the guard, especially for your young adult years but you’d opted out of it since you were more of a pacifist and therefore didn’t want to enter an altercation with someone if the job demanded such. You feel stupid now for not taking that opportunity as you narrowly dodge Bolin’s fists, you land a decent punch on him after a couple of minutes that temporarily stuns him. 

You punch again but he grabs your wrist and pushes you back, you stumble, and trip over your feet. Falling onto the wrestling mat with a thud, Bolin, who was still holding your wrist falls on top of you. He pulls away but is still on top of you as he worriedly exclaims “Oh no, I didn’t hurt you did I?” 

You groan due to his weight on top of yours but otherwise, you're fine, the mat is soft enough that it cushioned your blow. “I’m fine but can you get off of me, please? It’s kinda hard to breathe.” Bolin’s eyes widen and he immediately rolls off of you, opting to lay beside you on the mat as you catch your breath. 

“Aren’t you a dancer, don’t you have to have a really good sense of balance for that?” He questions and you frown, you're not officially a dancer and you had only taken about two months' worth of lessons before leaving with Kuvira. 

Your practices just consisted of you doing the handful of things you learned in the dance studio or saw someone do at one of the many town celebrations. “Not really, I just do it for fun.” 

“Oh, you just seem so good at it that I assumed,” he sits up but doesn’t move to stand so you follow and cross your legs over one another. 

“I took some lessons back in Zaofu before I left with Kuvira, but I’d only been doing it for a couple of months” you look down at your lap as you remember the freeing feeling of flying in the air as the petals catapulted you to the next. Or how it felt to gracefully spin in the air with your wire. You’d wanted to learn more about aerial moves from Suyin who seemed to be a professional at it and even planned to ask her for private lessons after the performance. 

“I think that still makes you one if you want it to be” he offers, you throw him a grateful smile before looking back at your legs, you pick at the frayed hem of your sweats and sigh. “Are you okay, y/n?” 

Your head shoots up to look at him, your brows pinch together in confusion “what do you mean?” 

“You just seem really sad all the time, or angry. Zhu Li said you haven’t been eating much either.” That’s because you lose your appetite anytime Baatar is so much as in the same room as you and you all tend to take your meals together. If he so much as smiles you imagine throwing your butter knife at him. 

Now that you think about it, your thoughts weren’t always this violent and loud, you’d never let someone's mere existence bother you before even when you got made fun of at school when you were younger. But now you want to rip things apart whilst crying, you want to be destructive especially towards him. 

You must be silent for too long because Bolin places a hand on your knee which causes you to look up at him, it's then you feel how wet your cheeks are. You bring a hand up to your face and once you pull it away you see the telltale sign of wetness, of tears. “‘m just lonely is all,” you say, and it’s not a lie. 

You think about telling Bolin, maybe he’d be decent at keeping a secret but you know it's too dangerous. You don’t want to think about what’ll happen if Kuvira’s grand plan is compromised by you and the young earth bender. 

He pulls you into a hug and suddenly the floodgates burst open, you grip onto the back of his shirt to keep you grounded as you let out all the pent up rage and sadness within you. You think about the last time she didn’t show up to your room, how you stayed up all night in hopes that she just got caught up with some important documents. How when the sun rose and she still hadn’t snuck in, you felt so hollow and alone. 

You grew up on the story of your parents and their perfect meeting, how they clicked instantly, and got married a year later. Your dad still bought her flowers every Friday and your mom still laughed at his awful jokes. You’d hoped for that kind of love when you were little, expected it even. When you met Kuvira for the first time a rush went through your body after she spoke and you just became so entranced by her every movement. She filled all your senses and when she wasn’t around she was all you could think about. 

You’d kept it all for her, you never dated growing up or even kissed someone. You knew your soulmate probably wouldn’t do the same but you didn’t care. You just wanted all your firsts to be with them. You love her so much, you’d do anything for her and it's apparent in your current suffering. 

Slowly as the days roll on telling yourself it will have been worth it when you’re married lost its comfort. You don’t know how long you cry into Bolin’s shoulder but you do know by the time you’ve calmed down you feel so exhausted that you may just fall asleep on this mat. Slowly, you pull away from him, there’s a large wet stain on his undershirt but he doesn’t seem to mind. 

“We’re all here for you, y/n. You’re not alone.” He places a hand on your shoulder and gives it a comforting squeeze, you offer him a thankful smile as you pull yourself up onto your feet. “Thank you, it means a lot.” 

When you're in your room you pull your hair out of its updo and fall onto your bed, you're so exhausted that you decide to just sleep through dinner despite the grumble of your stomach. 

You’re awoken a few hours later, you assume, the sun is down and it’s almost pitch black in your room if not for the glow of the moon through your window. Kuvira softly closes your door behind her as she climbs into bed. “Bolin said you seemed too tired for dinner, are you sick?” She wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you close. You wordlessly shake your head and snuggle into her side. 

Kuvira runs a hand through your hair, slowly you feel a bit better about earlier as you begin to relax. “I have to tell you something,” she says softly, almost hesitantly. She’s never hesitant, always sure in her words and actions. You pull away, suddenly nervous at what she has to say. She’s not pregnant, right? Because you can’t raise his child, you just can’t. “Baatar proposed.” 

Your heart stops, “you said no, right?” The silence that follows is enough and suddenly you don’t want to even be in the same train car as her. You sit up and press yourself against the wall since she’s caging you in. “ ‘Vira… no.” She sits up and grabs your face between her hands, you try to pull away but she’s persistent and looks into your eyes pleadingly. 

“I’m not going to marry him, y/n. It’s just to placate him until we win and we’re so close to winning. Only a couple more months, I swear” her words do little to mend your cracking heart, suddenly you don’t think she’s telling the truth. She only said this would go on for a while, she never said she’d sleep with him and accept a stupid proposal. 

“I can’t keep watching this… It’s killing me” you whimper, she pulls you into her arms, you don’t want her to touch you but you also don’t have the energy to push her away. 

“I love you” she begins to pepper your face with delicate kisses, each kiss is accentuated with those three words and soon enough she’s laying you back down as she climbs on top of you. “I only love you, I hate him, I swear.” She pulls you into a soft kiss that conveys her feelings, you slowly kiss her back, your hand cupping her cheek. Slowly she makes you feel less lonely as she pulls your shirt off. 

_ That night she tries to remind you of how much she truly loves you, and it temporarily works. _

* * *

  
“For now,” 

turns into three years. After Kuvira’s announcement in Republic City, which wasn’t all too well received, you guys head towards Zaofu. Kuvira had kept you from seeing Suyin in the city, claiming she needed time to calm down before a reunion to which you agreed. 

She eases up on you after the proposal, she hasn’t ‘punished’ you since despite accidentally upsetting her quite a few times in public. There’s still that fear of her doing it again, but she always crawls into your bed and pulls you into her arms. She doesn’t wear the ring around you.

After the announcement you just kept staring at her hand as you tried to fight the tears threatening to spill. A few days after catching you staring, she tells Baatar it was best if she kept it tucked safely away so it didn’t get damaged or accidentally used for bending, but her real reasoning was to help ease your pain.

Kuvira even spends more time with you during the day, much to Baatar’s chagrin. If she wasn’t in some important military meeting she was usually seen reading with you. After a bit of psyching yourself up, you ask her if she wants to practice dancing with you, she looks up from her book and into your eyes before slowly nodding. 

Bolin ends up teaching you how to properly fight someone with your fists and as the months go on you improve greatly. One day you ask him if you can try something on him, he’s a bit apprehensive but relents, before he can even ask what you're going to do you close your fist except for your pointer and middle finger before hitting him in his chi. 

Bolin’s eyes widen at your action, he tries to bend the metal of a dumbbell but nothing happens, “w-why would you do that? How did you do that!” Shock races through you as he keeps trying to bend, spirits you just chi blocked someone. 

“I’m sorry! Some old lady gave me this book about it in a town, she said her grandson was an equalist and she wanted it out of her house. But look, I can block people’s chi’s in a fight!” You bite your lip to keep from grinning as Bolin looks at you as if you're insane.

“You're a bender, why would you need that?!” 

“What if I’m up against a powerful bender? I need to have something to even the playing field.” You bring your hands to your mouth to hide the pride you feel for yourself. “I won’t ever use it on you again; I just wanted to see if it’d work. I’m sorry.”

A few days later you're sitting in Kuvira’s office with Baatar and Kuvira whilst they discuss how to get Zaofu on their side. Baatar had called for Bolin some time ago, their plan was for you and Bolin to convince Suyin to sign the papers. You felt a bit off about it but the night before Kuvira assured you that it was just because they were still bitter about her dating Baatar, which had caused you to flinch. She knew you didn’t like to talk about him, especially after the proposal.

The morning after she told you, you had stayed in your room for most of the day and when you snuck out to the gym around midday Bolin had entered and told you about their announcement over breakfast. If he noticed you hitting harder than usual, he didn’t mention it. 

“Am I in trouble?” Bolin asks cautiously as he eyes the three of you, you send him a comforting smile which has Baatar quietly scoffing from the other side of the couch. The guy was a real dick and once Kuvira left him you think you might have a word or two with him. 

“No. In fact, I have good news. We want you to be part of our inner circle,” she gives him one of those smiles that only you, and maybe Baatar, know is fake. Bolin looks like he’s practically vibrating with joy as he shouts out “inner circle? No way! Yes!” He begins to fist pump the air before realizing who he’s in front of, which makes you snort (Baatar sends a glare your way at that), and composes himself, “That is a great honor… What does it mean exactly?” 

“It means you’ve proven your worth,” she takes a step back and gestures to the map that has one large piece missing from it, Zaofu, “we’re so close to uniting the empire but Su has some resentment towards me and Baatar that might cloud her judgment and stop her from making a wise decision. We believe you and y/n can help her see clearly.” 

“I can do that!” He says eagerly, “by the time we finish telling her all the great things we’ve done, she’ll be begging to join.” 

“Good, because we’re here.” She bends the blinds up, you look out the window in front of you and notice all the troops waiting outside… She didn’t tell you about this. “Vir-Kuvira, what is this?” You quickly correct yourself. Bolin adds to your question “aren’t all these troops going to send the wrong message.” 

“The army is here to project strength. You’re here to present-” she looks over at you as she continues, her gaze hardening in a warning, “-peace.” You sink into the cushions of the couch and soon she turns away from you to look at her map once more, Bolin looks uneasy and suddenly you feel unsure. 

Kuvira kept you out of some of the meetings in the past because she said it was boring nonsense that consisted of military talk which you knew nothing about so you always shrugged it off. Now you're worried those meetings weren’t nonsense at all. You didn’t even know the army was this big. 

You thought your return to Zaofu would be filled with excitement and joy, you’d listed off all the things you wanted to do in your head, the top one being seeing your parents again. But the tram ride through the city has your stomach twisted in knots. 

When the doors open and you all walk off the people of the city, people you’ve known your whole life, give you looks of disgust. You look down at the floor, unable to stomach the glares they send your way as you walk into the Beifong estate.

You all stop in front of a set of double doors, you’ve never been in this house before, it's massive and honestly seems like a sprawling palace. When the doors open you aren’t met with open arms, the entire Beifong family (sans Baatar) stares at you four with disapproving glares. 

There’s a hint of surprise in Suyin’s eyes when they land on you and suddenly you want to be enclosed in the metal flower like all those years ago. Bolin rushes over to Opal, trying to hug her but she turns her back on him and crosses her arms. 

That feeling in your stomach twists and tightens, you don’t think you can get through the speech you had planned now, it feels like there’s a fist-sized ball stuck in your throat. 

“No, you’ve chosen your side,” she says. Kuvira looks over at you, urging you forward and so you hesitantly walk to stand beside Bolin. “Sides? There shouldn’t be any sides. I know, why don’t we all stand in a circle, huh, maybe hold hands?” You want to slap his arm but you don’t, it doesn’t seem like the right time. 

Before you can say anything, Suyin looks at Kuvira and says “I’m not giving up Zaofu. I don’t care if you brought your entire army.” 

Kuvira lifts her hand and speaks in an earnest tone “Su, I didn’t bring my army to threaten you. I wanted to show you all that your son and I have accomplished.” You bite your tongue, wanting to blurt out that Baatar’s hardly done a thing, and it takes all your might to keep those bitter words down but you manage, somehow. 

“You must realize what your doing goes against everything your father and I tried to teach you,” Suyin seems so disappointed in him, you wonder if your mother is disappointed in you too. 

“Son, you belong here.” Baatar Sr. says.

“Why?” Baatar forces out between gritted teeth, “so that I can go on living in your shadow?” Baatar Sr. 's eyes widen in shock and he looks so hurt, Suyin replies for her husband and says “don’t say that, can’t you see she’s brainwashed you?” 

Kuvira guffaws at that, it’s true, she has brainwashed and manipulated him, twisted him around her finger with her husky voice and promise of love and devotion. “Ha, I didn’t brainwash him. I set him free. And now he’s accomplished more with me than he ever could have with you.” Towards the end, Kuvira’s eyes set into a glare and you decide to jump into action. 

“Obviously there is a lot of personal conflict between you all, but we should be talking about the good of Zaofu and how we can help this great city,” you say, Suyin looks at you pitifully which has you feeling uneasy. 

“Whatever she’s told you y/n, it’s a lie. I know you, you're too sweet and innocent to be siding with her if you knew the whole truth,” her tone is sympathetic, you furrow your brows and look over at Kuvira who looks to be struggling to keep her composure. “I would never lie to her or to Bolin.” 

“You know what I think we need to do? Focus on the future and the future is bright. Let me tell you. I’ve seen it, yeah I saw it last month. We went to this town that had nothing. Most of the people there had never even seen a satomobile before but now they have two satomobiles, running water, and a magnet train that goes right through their town. I mean how awesome is that?” 

You place a hand on Bolin’s shoulder, trying to silently communicate with him to shut up, “they also have plenty of food now, most towns we go to are on the brink of collapse.” 

Opal crosses her arms and glares at the two of you, “they might have been happy when you first arrived but I’ve seen what happens after you leave. Citizens are forced to work as slave labor. Dissenters are sent off to who knows where.” You drop your hand off of Bolins shoulder and take a step back, you guys had actually never revisited any of the towns you helped. You chalked it up to being busy. 

“-But I am giving you the 100% Bolin guarantee that we’re making the earth empire a better place to live!” Bolin says. You were too lost in your thoughts to hear the first half of his speech, there has to be a time someone at least mentioned what happens to the past towns and villages you helped. But your mind comes up short. 

Suyin takes a step forward and says with anger laced in her tone “I can’t believe you brought Bolin and y/n here to try and sway us.” She keeps walking until she’s directly in front of Kuvira. “Leave. Zaofu will never accept you as their leader.” 

“Then you leave me no choice. You have twenty-four hours to agree to join the earth empire or we take the city by force.” No, that was never part of the plan, it can’t be part of the plan. Your family is here, your mother is part of the guard. Suyin kicks you guys out of her estate, as you begin to exit through the front door, Suyin calls after you. 

“Y/n, your parents are worried sick.” You look over your shoulder at her, she gives her a pleading look but before you can even comprehend a reply you hear Kuvira call out in a bored tone, “C’mon y/n. We’re leaving.” 

You rush after her, leaving Suyin and your family behind. You take the tram out of the city then reboard your train that takes you to the center of the camp where Kuvira’s tent is. Throughout the ride, Bolin keeps giving you nervous glances that you try to ignore. Once in Kuvira’s tent she goes to sit behind her desk, you lean against said desk as Baatar stands a few feet from you and Bolin stands in front of Kuvira. 

Bolin decides to break the silence “I mean, you’re not really going to attack Zaofu… are you?” 

“When people don’t cooperate we must find other ways of convincing them to join” she replies smoothly. Your heart drops, she knows how much your family means to you, how much you still love Zaofu. She can’t really be willing to march through there and destroy everything you love.

“Other ways? How many times have we used these other ways in the past?” Bolin tilts his head in confusion. Your knuckles turn white as you grasp at the metal desk behind you while the struggle to keep quiet becomes harder by the second. Suddenly the idea of her punishing you tonight doesn’t seem so bad if you can somehow get her to remain peaceful. 

Kuvira slowly stands from her desk, “It’s not for you to worry about.” Bolin fiddles with his fingers as he tries to figure out what to say next, you know you should intervene, the words are on the tip of your tongue but it feels as if someone’s sewn your mouth shut. 

“So… what happens to all those towns and villages after we leave? I just realized I’ve never really gone back and checked on them.” Kuvira makes her way around the table until she’s in front of him.

“Those people are my loyal subjects and they contribute to the empire however I see fit.-” You push yourself off the table but Baatar grips your shoulder and pushes you back against it to keep you from getting involved, “What do you think you're doing?” you spit out, Kuvira ignores the spat going on behind her as she continues “-Now that you're in the inner circle, you're going to have to learn some hard truths.” 

“You don’t need to be getting involved” Baatar replies smoothly, Bolin seems caught up in trying to figure out how to properly word his response as you glare at your soulmate's fiancee. “You touch me again and I’ll rip your arm off.” 

Baatar laughs, “I’d like to see you try.” Suddenly all the reasonings you ever had to keep your anger at bay slowly start to diminish. “You won’t be laughing when I’ve finally had my piece of you.” He must not see you as a threat, he just shrugs you off and turns to proudly watch Kuvira.

“Maybe I’m not really an inner circle kind of guy. Or- Or we don’t take over Zaofu we could just let them be on their own, then yay the empires united! Congratulations to us.” Kuvira towers over Bolin as she threateningly stalks after him, her fists clenched. 

“ I didn’t know your personal feelings for Opal were stronger than your loyalty to me.” He leans against the table behind him as she stares him down, her behavior is so familiar, you furrow your brows. Is that what she looks like when she’s angry at you? “- Zaofu will join us. The only thing I’m second-guessing is the decision to bring you along. Maybe you need to spend some time in a reeducation camp.” 

“I thought that’s where we sent people to learn new trade skills…” He trails off, eyeing the two of them, his eyes even drift to you for a second, to see if you're in on this but your expression must give your surprise away because the tiniest bit of him relaxes. “Hard truths, Bolin," Baatar drones.

“Your loyalty seems to be wavering.” Kuvira crosses her arms across her chest as she stares him down, Bolin shakes his head thrice. “No, no I’m totally on your side, completely 100% loyal.” He salutes her. It seems to do the job because she simply glares at him for a minute before swiftly turning away. “Everyone, leave.” 

Bolin practically sprints out of there and Baatar slowly follows after, you take your time and at the entrance of her tent you turn around to stare at your soulmate. “Vira-” 

“I said leave!” She shouts, her hands smacking down against her desk as she glares at you. You stumble out, surprised by her outburst, before making your way back to the train to hide away in your room once more. As you pass a large tent pitched near the train's entrance someone grabs onto your shoulder and roughly yanks you to the side so you're both hidden from view. Before you can yell at whoever touched you, Bolin comes into sight. 

“We need to leave, now” he claims, he grabs your hand and tugs you towards the ladder that leads to the roof of the train. “Guards are stationed at Varrick's door, we need to break in from abo-.” 

“Bolin I can’t leave” you whisper, he whips around to look at you. “Are you delusional, did you not see what I saw in there?” 

“You don’t understand, I know what happened was wrong but…” tears collect at the corners of your eyes and you feel that familiar feeling of fear claw up your throat. “She’s my soulmate, Bolin.” 

His eyes widen and he drops your hand as if suddenly you might be diseased, it hurts to see the look he’s giving you right now. “But Baa-” 

“She’s using him, she has for years. Why do you think I’m always so sad? If I leave her she’ll never forgive me.” 

“She’s going to march on Zaofu and probably destroy it. We can get in there and warn them about how strong her forces are,” he tries to reason with you. “y/n the Kuvira you fell in love with is gone.” You look away, a part of you knows that with all this power she’s collected she’s slowly lost pieces of herself. She’s always been a bit controlling and aggressive but it’s gotten worse over the years. 

“I think I can bring her back, You need to head to Zaofu and try to figure out some kind of peaceful solution with Suyin and I’ll try to calm Vira down.” You know you're running out of time, “go Bolin, you need to hurry.” You push him towards the ladder that leads to the roof of the train, before he climbs up he pulls you into a quick, bone-crushing hug. 

“Be safe,” he says softly, giving you one last tight squeeze before climbing up and out of view. You look over your shoulder, eyes drifting to Kuvira’s tent, some of her soldiers are currently erecting tents nearby for your group, much smaller ones but you didn’t mind. 

“You can do this” you whisper to yourself, trying to psych yourself up before marching back towards the massive octagon-shaped tent. 

Once at the flap you gently push the fabric apart so you can step inside, Kuvira is sitting at her desk, reading over a pile of papers when she notices your presence. “I thought I told you to leave.” 

“I wanted to talk to you, about Zaofu.” You try to keep your voice from shaking as you walk closer until you're standing in front of your desk. “My parents are in there, Vira.” 

“They won’t get hurt, you said they're smart so they should know to stay out of my soldiers' way,” she sets the paper in her hand down so she can look up at you, giving you her undivided attention. “We need Zaofu, y/n.” 

“What if we worked out a deal where they remain independent but offer to give us a certain amount of supplies a year in exchange for peace. It could work.” She’s silent, hope festers in your heart as she mulls over your idea. 

“It would make us seem weak to the rest of the world,” she counters and you sigh. You can’t give up, besides the longer you keep her talking the less chance there is of her going to check on Varrick. 

“It would make us seem merciful and benevolent. You told me our image is incredibly important and it’s in a delicate balance right now. Marching on them will make us be seen as no better than the earth queen, the other nations will hate us.” 

Kuvira pushes her chair back and stands, her hands rest on the desk so she can lean closer to you until your faces are only a few inches apart. “If I think about it, will that make you happy?” Her voice is husky and smooth, she’s speaking softly to you and that pesky part of you that’s practically entranced by her is trying to rip through your focus. 

“Yes, it will” you whisper back, she leans forward to bring you into a quick kiss filled with passion and love. You're surprised by her actions, technically anyone could walk right in but you know most people would knock on the wooden post outside before entering. It fills you with hope that she’s willing to kiss you in broad daylight. 

Kuvira pulls away and goes to sit back in her desk chair, you're frozen in mild shock which must be evident in your demeanor because she looks up at you with a smirk. “I’ve told everyone for safety reasons I’ll be staying in your tent, expect me there tonight.” 

Before you can answer, there’s a knock from outside and Kuvira waits a moment before saying in her usual commanding voice, “come in!” A soldier walks in, as he was trained he immediately bows upon entering before walking closer until he’s a few feet from her desk. You try to compose yourself so it’s not obvious what just happened, your cheeks feel warm.

“What is it?” She quirks a brow and looks up at him, her demeanor towards her soldiers is much calmer and you’ve seen her joke with them a couple of times. One night you asked her why, it just didn’t seem like her to which she replied “if, for whatever reason, I can’t protect myself, my life is in their hands. Why would I not be nice to them?” 

“Baatar asked me to inform you that Avatar Korra is here,” his back is ramrod straight and his eyes are trained above her, as all soldiers are taught. Kuvira stands from her chair once more and rounds the desk, walking over to him, “take me to her.” You follow after them a few paces behind, your hands held together behind your back to appear professional and strong, as Kuvira taught you. 

That smug bastard Baatar is standing beside the Avatar, you had caught a glimpse of her once in Zaofu but she looks so different now with her cropped hair and earth kingdom clothes. ”The Avatar is here to see you,” he says, glancing at her before his eyes shift back to your soulmate. 

“Korra, it’s such an honor to see you again. The last I heard you were still healing in the south pole.” Baatar notices you beside Kuvira and gives you a hardened glare, one of these days you were going to break down his ego for all the pain he’s unknowingly caused you, and all the hatred he has towards you despite not knowing what you do to his fiancee whilst he sleeps. 

“Well, I’m feeling much better now.” 

“That’s wonderful news.” No, it's not. Not for Kuvira’s plans at least. But maybe Korra can help you convince Kuvira to back down and save Zaofu from the impending invasion. 

“I’m here to ask you to back down. Please, take your army and leave.” Kuvira’s brows pull together just a fraction, you know her and you know that means the Avatar’s request didn’t work. 

“I think we both know that’s not going to happen,” she says. Korra’s face sets into a firm glare as she stares her down. “I can’t let you take Zaofu.” 

“Look-” Kuvira gestures to the camp around them, “- I was tasked with bringing stability to the earth kingdom. Zaofu is the last holdout. Why should I treat it any differently than any other state?” She clasps her hands together behind her back once more. Treat it differently because it’s home, because there are people we love inside! The voice inside your head shouts.

“What you're doing isn’t right,” Korra’s face softens as she tries to get through to her. This isn’t working, if anything it’s just giving Kuvira more ammunition to attack, you want to tell the Avatar to shut up and leave. 

“I understand you're just trying to do Su a favor, but you can’t come to me as I’m on the verge of reuniting my nation and tell me to stop. The world was descending into chaos while you were gone,” Korra looks down when Kuvira mentions her absence, looking solemn and remorseful, “and in order to fix it, I had to make some tough decisions.” Yeah like, get engaged to Baatar… 

“I know what that’s like. I’ve had plenty of people mad at me about decisions I’ve made,” Korra looks back up at Kuvira. 

She takes a couple of steps over to the Avatar, “exactly. Korra if you really want to help,” she places a hand on Korra’s shoulder, “go back to Su and try to talk some sense into her. Let’s call a temporary truce. I won’t make any moves until you talk to her and get back to me.” 

“Maybe that will be for the best…” Korra leaves shortly after, rushing to the metal city. Once she’s out of earshot Kuvira glances at Baatar and demands “prepare us for the worst, and go check on Bolin.” 

Your eyes widen and you look between the two of them before speaking up, “I can go find him, we usually spar around this time anyways.” You try to keep calm, Baatar scoffs at your offer “now is not the time for you to run off into some closet for a quick stress relief.” 

You gasp and take a step closer to him, “Bolin is my friend and nothing more. For you to accuse me of sleeping with someone who is happily in a relationship, with your little sister no less, is disrespectful and wrong.” Kuvira steps between you guys, glaring at you both. 

“Baatar, go find Bolin, y/n I need help with some plans in my tent.” Her tone is icy cold and your heart drops, does she believe Baatar? You anxiously follow after her and once you're inside the large tent once more she heads over to a large table with maps scattered across it. Slowly you walk over until you're standing beside her, your gaze locked on the side of her head. 

“You don’t believe him… do you?” your voice is small and she places her hand flat across the table as she stares at the Gaoling province on the map. “Vira…” 

“I don’t think you would, but I wouldn’t put it past him to have feelings for you and I know you can be quite vulnerable at times.” She finally looks up at you with an inquisitive stare, “has he ever tried anything?” 

“No, Vira, he loves Opal just as I love you. If he had ever tried something I would have told you by now, I promise.” You place your hand atop hers and give it a gentle squeeze. She flips her hand so her palm is facing upwards and threads her fingers with your own. 

“Good, I don’t think I could keep myself from fighting him if something had happened between the two of you,” she says possessively while your stomach drops at her insinuation. She pulls you into another quick kiss and your mind is clouded with confusion at all of her affection today; it's foreign and strange. “We only have a few steps left before this great nation is stable due to our hard work. Only a little while longer until I can propose to you.” 

“I love you,” you say softly, one of her rare genuine smiles appears on her face as she gives your hand a gentle squeeze before pulling away from you. “I love you too.” 

_ Maybe there’s still a chance, after all, Bolin should be in Zaofu by now.  _


	3. part three

He didn't make it. 

Baatar found Bolin with Varrick and Zhu Li in the woods and they almost beat him, but he used Varrick to get Zhu Li and Bolin to stop fighting. Your heart cracks as Baatar walks in with that same smug attitude with all three of them in cuffs behind him. Two soldiers push them inside until they are all in front of Kuvira. 

“Don’t torture us” Bolin begs. Kuvira stands from her chair, leaning against the desk as she glares at them. “Send these three away on the next train. Bolin and Zhu Li will be going to the reeducation camp for our most severe dissenters.” You whip your head around to stare at her, silently pleading for her to stop. 

She ignores you, which you shouldn’t be surprised by, as she rounds the desk and walks over to Varrick. “And you will continue to work on the spirit energy project under close, armed supervision.” She emphasizes the word ‘armed’ before swiftly turning around and walking back towards her desk. “I want it weaponized immediately.” 

Zhu Li does something unexpected though, and flings herself onto the floor by Kuvira’s feet, she pleads for mercy, swears her loyalty, and insults Varrick all in what seems like one breath. Your brows pinch together, in the three years you’ve known her she’s never seemed discontented with her life nor job. If anything you had thought she was secretly fond of the eccentric billionaire. 

Kuvira believes her though and sends Bolin along with Varrick away. Zhu Li is sent away to do… well, you don’t know. Once everyone leaves it’s just the two of you and Kuvira is seething. Once everyone is out of earshot she goes over to her table of maps and sweeps her arms across them, effectively knocking everything to the floor. 

You jump in surprise before slowly walking over to her like you would an injured animal. She slams her hands onto the metal and practically growls with rage. “Did you know?” she spits out. 

She keeps her back to you and you stop midstep, lying has always been a bit so-so for you. You wouldn’t brag about it but I mean you’ve gotten away with secretly being with Kuvira, which involved a lot of lying, throughout the last three years and no one suspected a thing. “No, I knew he was unhappy with how we left Zaofu but I would have never imagined that he’d turn against us.” 

You come up behind her and cautiously slide a hand over her shoulder and wrap your other arm around her waist. One of her hands comes to rest on the arm wrapped around her as she tries to control her breathing. “Breathe, Vira,” you say calmly and kiss her back, she makes some kind of choked sound and you pull her tighter against you. 

“You won’t ever betray me… right?” she chokes out. Your heart cracks and with some effort, you turn her around to face you. You cup her face and pull her closer until your foreheads are resting on another. “Never, I would never betray family.” 

You know about her childhood, she had slowly opened up to you about it over the years and you knew that the effects of being left behind by her parents would never truly vanish. You knew you had to stop this before it got too far, but you’d do it to keep her and your future together safe. She has tears racing down her face and you're sure she’s imaging worst-case scenarios right now. “I’m staying by your side until the end of time,” you murmur and she lets out a weak chuckle at your melodramatic words. 

You don’t know how long you stand there comforting her but you certainly don’t mind spending your day with her in your arms. When the sun is starting to go down she checks for any sign of her breakdown in the mirror and fixes a few stray strands of hair from her bun. 

The stress of this fight along with being so close to home was starting to get to her, you realized. It’s probably why she’s been so affectionate, she’s losing her grip on her cool-headed facade. “I have some things to do, you don’t need to wait up for me tonight.” 

Your heart drops at her words, “Vira did I do something wrong?” From your knowledge Baatar isn’t even staying in the camp tonight, she ordered him to be the one to escort Bolin to the reeducation camp and watch over Varrick. 

“You did nothing wrong, I just have something that needs to be done so I won’t be going to bed until late. I don’t want you losing sleep while you wait for me,” she walks over to you, she doesn’t touch you but the look she sends your way reassures you that it’s going to be okay, at least for tonight. “I left a present for you in the tent, I hope you like it.” 

You send her a confused look, she never really gave you gifts before. She was too busy uniting the earth empire to shop or make personal items which you understood, you’d seen the personal toll it had taken on her. 

She leaves you to go discuss some plans for tomorrow if all things go well and you rush off to your tent. You pass some of the communal sleeping tents for soldiers and an infirmary before you finally open the flap to your small tent. Inside are two decent sized cots on either side of the tent with a small chest for clothes and such. 

On the left cot is something rather large wrapped up in leather. You unwrap the gift and what greets your eyes is metal, there’s a note atop the metal though and you hesitantly pick it up. Inside is Kuvira’s elegant penmanship and says “To keep you safe.” 

You carefully place the note down, you think you’ll keep it for sentimental reasons. When you pick up the metal you realize it’s armor. You bend it on and smile, it’s lightweight but is made from one of the toughest metals you can bend, there’s armor for your legs and arms that you bend on. It’s comfortable and there are sections on the tops of it that can be bent off like the metal that accent Kuvira’s uniform. 

You run your fingers down the smooth metal, and flush. This is unique and meant only for you, it wasn’t all that romantic per se but you loved it and would cherish it for the rest of your life. You bend it off and carefully place it in the chest before heading to the mess hall for dinner. With Bolin and Varrick gone you don’t know whom to sit with until your eyes land on Zhu Li who is eating at the far end of one of the long metal tables lining the marquee. You grab your plate of food and march over to her, once you're in front of her she looks up from her plate and her eyes widen a bit as you sit down across from her. 

“Bolin told us that you want to stop her too” she whispers, scared of others hearing. 

“I want to stop this, but I won’t hurt her” you reply, a group of young soldiers walks by with their helmets off, obnoxiously laughing about who knows what. You pick up your fork and take a bite of your food, “Unless Korra can work something out with Suyin she will take Zaofu, I thought I got through to her but I know her conversation with the Avatar has caused her to throw away my suggestion.” 

“I don’t know what to do,” Zhu Li replies. “If I can weasel myself into being a lab assistant I can try to sabotage the weapon but no one has given me any orders yet.” You set your fork down as you try to think up some kind of plan, honestly, you’d only been thinking about Zaofu but now you're wondering what else she has planned if she wants that weapon built. 

Two higher-ranked soldiers stop behind Zhu Li, the taller of the two clears his throat whilst the shorter one says “Kuvira wishes to see Zhu Li.” 

You both stand but they stop you when you begin to get out of your seat, “just Zhu Li.” Your brows pinch together as they take her away, leaving her meal behind you try to keep your distance as you follow after them. Thankfully neither seem to notice you as they lead Zhu Li to Kuvira’s tent. It’s two hours later, the sun has long since gone down, that Kuvira and her guards exit the tent but Zhu Li doesn’t. 

Your heart pounds at the possibilities that race through your mind, you take a step toward the tent when a hand wraps around your forearm. You whip your head around and meet the stare of one of Kuvira’s most trusted generals. “Kuvira asked me to make sure you get into your tent safely.” 

“What do you mean?” You yank your arm out of his grasp and frown. 

“She thinks it’s unsafe out here at night. Let’s get you back to your tent.” You hesitantly follow after him and glance around to see if anything strange is happening elsewhere but it all looks perfectly normal. Once at the entrance of your tent you give him a curt nod goodnight before heading inside. When you turn around you see the outline of his body as he stays outside your tent, standing guard. 

Your heart drops. You could earth bend out but that’s loud and he’ll hear you, then you’ll have to explain to Kuvira why you felt the need to leave which she won’t be happy with. You just want to make sure Zhu Li is okay. You sit on your bed for an hour as you try to come up with a plan to leave when the alarms begin to blare. 

Your stomach drops and you quickly exit the tent, the general tries to stop you from leaving so you bend off two pieces of metal from a nearby weapons crate to cuff his hands and bend the earth at his feet so he can’t run after you. 

You race between the tents and crates of supplies as you head towards all the commotion, floodlights are shining at a specific spot, Kuvira’s tent. Panic bubbles up your throat at the thought of something happening to her but the sight before you has you skidding to a halt. 

At least a dozen mecha suits are surrounding Suyin along with Wing and Wei whilst Kuvira walks away from the scene, your eyes land on Zhu Li who is laying in the bed behind them, shielding her eyes as the mecha suits shoot the three Beifongs with an electrical shock.  _ No.  _

Why would Suyin do this, she had to know it wouldn’t end well. The general you had trapped from earlier comes bounding down the path behind you and grabs a hold of your arm. “I am not going to get demoted because of your ass,” he spits out and drags you away, you don’t fight him as you look over your shoulder and see the unconscious Beifongs get dragged away.

When you get back to your tent the general all but tosses you inside and takes post once more in front of the entrance. Feeling defeated, you change into your pajamas. As you're pulling your tank top over your bare chest you hear the general talking to someone outside of the tent, it’s silent for a moment before a seething Kuvira enters, you see his shadow disappear, leaving the two of you alone. 

“Why would you leave?” She demands, taking a step closer to you. 

“I heard the sirens and was worried something happened to you!” You reply, your chest heaving as you glare at her. “I don’t care if a dozen guards are posted outside. If I feel that you may be in danger I am going to come running to aid you.” 

She blanches at your confession and takes a step back. Her fury visibly dissipates so you take a step forward and cup her face in your hands. She looks down at you with a look of confusion. It breaks your heart anytime she gets confused by your love for her. “What are you going to do with them?” 

Kuvira pulls away from your grasp and looks at the ground, it must hurt, they once considered her family. “I’ll have to use them to get Zaofu.” 

You glare at her, “you said you’d consider my option, did you even think it over?!” 

“With them, in our custody, we can take over Zaofu with minimal force, your family will be fine” she retorts, a look of frustration settling on her features. “It’s a good thing we have them or else taking it over could have turned into a bloodbath.” 

“Vira… We can never go back to Zaofu if you do this, please.” 

“If you want to stay in their good graces then  _ leave! _ ” You take a step back, your eyes widening. 

“I won’t leave you but by doing this I will resent you, this city was our home! I wanted us to move back here one day and introduce you to my parents, maybe buy a house in the main dome, and attend dance lessons again. We can’t have that future if you invade it.” 

Kuvira snarls, “I don’t have to listen to this.” She goes to leave and your heart drops, Baatar isn’t here but the idea of waking up without her insight sends you into a panic. All those mornings full of tears take over and you grab her wrist before she can. 

“Wait, just stay. Don’t just… run away while we’re fighting because you don’t like the subject,” your eyes brim with tears. “I’m deeply upset with you and I’m hoping that maybe you’ll change your mind, for me, please. But don’t go sleep somewhere else, you can stay on the extra cot just… just stay here.” 

Kuvira pulls her wrist out of your grip and nods, you go lay down on your cot and you watch as she changes into her pajamas before getting in the one across the way, her back facing you. 

You frown but will take whatever you can get at this point and turn the knob of the oil lamp until the flame is snuffed out. 

  
  
  
  


You wake up to the sound of the chest between the beds snapping shut and when you open your eyes you're greeted with Kuvira fastening her metal shoulder pads into place. You sit up, causing Kuvira’s eyes to snap up and look into your own. 

“I’m going through with it,” she responds. Your shoulders slump as you try to fight back your tears. 

“I won’t have any part of it” you spit out before laying back down and turning your back to her. You hear her groan out in frustration before storming out of the tent, leaving you to your thoughts. There has to be a way to stop this. You know if you just outright walk up and fight her not only will you lose but she’ll never forgive you.

It has to be planned and calculated but there isn’t enough time to keep Zaofu from being invaded, maybe last night you could have done something, tied her up, and driven far away with her, but she’s probably already getting her troops into position. 

An hour or two later you convince yourself to get out of bed and get dressed, you stare at your armor with anger gnawing at your heart before you bend it on and storm out of the camp. It’s completely deserted as everyone is most likely taking over Zaofu right about now, as you turn towards Kuvira’s tent you slam into someone and stumble backward. 

Zhu Li falls to the ground with a thud and you let out a slew of curses as you bend down to help her back up. “I’m so sorry,” you immediately apologize. 

“It’s okay, I didn’t get hurt or anything.” 

You look around to see if perhaps there’s a straggler or two, but again it’s a ghost town. “Have you seen anyone, most specifically near Kuvira’s tent?” Zhu Li shakes her head and you grab her wrist before pulling her after you. “I can’t stop her from taking over Zaofu but I can try to bring this whole thing down.” 

Once you enter the empty tent you and Varrick's former assistant immediately sift through her piles of paperwork and plans to try and find something useful. So far it seems to be stuff you knew or had a hunch about, there were some blueprints for a couple of reeducation camps, you want to rip them to sheds and light this whole place on fire but you know you can’t leave any evidence of your snooping so you put them back and move behind her desk. 

Inside her drawers are more pointless papers, copies of contracts she’s made people sign, and an in detail map of the earth kingdom. You know you must be missing something, this can’t be everything. 

Curiously, you get onto your knees and look under her desk, there you spot a metal compartment that must be bent to open. You bend it open and out falls at least a dozen of folded-up papers. 

“Zhu Li'' you quietly call out and she immediately walks over to you, you place the papers on the desk, her eyes widen in relief as she picks up the first piece of paper and unfolds it. You grab another and read through the contents, it’s plans for after she wins, none of which look promising. You place it back down and pick up another, inside is some kind of blueprint for a massive mecha suit, you narrow your eyes as you try to make sense of all the many notes and numbers but you've never even seen an engineering blueprint before. 

"Zhu Li do you know how to read blueprints?" You ask, she rounds the desk and looks over your shoulder. "Yes, I've helped Varrick draw up quite a few." 

You hand the paper to her and watch as her eyes dart from one side of the paper to the next. Her eyes widened in horror. "This is a massive mecha suit, they plan to make it out of platinum…" 

Why would Kuvira need such a thing, Zaofu is the last place she has on her map. You sift through the other papers when your eyes land on a specific one. You unfold it and spread it across the table, you think you might be sick. 

Its battle plans, an intricate strategy on how to take over Republic City. "She never told me about this…" As you stand in shock Zhu Li zips into action, she lays the blueprint onto the table and finds a blank sheet of paper and some charcoal, placing the paper over the blueprints she starts to trace the plans for the mecha suit. "We can't stay here for too long, Kuvira might send someone to check on us." 

“We need to get this to the Avatar.” You grab another blank sheet of paper and a pen before writing down as much as you can about her planned attack. Kuvira always made it sound like after Zaofu it would all be over, every time she reassured you she’d always say “once we get to Zaofu we can drop this facade.” But with all these blueprints for different types of weapons that you know Baatar is most likely building, you realize she was lying. 

“How do we do that? It’s not like it’s easy to sneak out of this place.” Zhu Li pockets her copy of the plans and carefully folds the original before placing it back in the pile. You fold your paper that is covered, front to back, in vital information. You place all the documents back inside the hidden compartment before bending it shut once more. 

Truthfully you don’t know how you’ll do it, the only way you can think of is breaking out the Beifongs which has your heart racing. You’ve never done something like this, how do you break someone out whilst not blowing your cover? You both leave her tent and head to the back of the encampment, far away from anyone who might still be around. 

“I need to break out the Beifongs, you’ll go with them back to republic city to help Asami figure out a way to stop this mecha suit from causing any destruction while I stay here and try to do the best I can to weaken our force.” 

Zhu Li takes the paper you give her, she looks down at the folded document, trying to figure out what to say. “Bolin told Varrick and me when he broke us out of the lab.” Your eyes widen and it feels like ice has been poured all over you. You know Zhu Li won’t tell Kuvira what she knows but the years of keeping it a secret have programmed you to feel dread at her words. “It’s brave, what you're doing.” 

You gulp, “do you think, what with the deeper bond and all, someone can forgive their soulmate if they betray them?” It’s been on your mind since this morning when you decided that you weren’t going to sit on your hands anymore. Suggestions didn’t work, you had to stop this with force. 

“I hope so.” Zhu Li’s grip on the paper tightens just a bit and you realize you never asked her if she’s ever met her soulmate. 

“Tonight is our best bet, Kuvira will most likely move them to a more secure location in the morning. We should meet here at midnight tonight. Bring a backpack with some supplies for yourself, okay?” She places the paper in her pocket with the blueprints and nods. 

“You’re doing the right thing y/n,” she says in an attempt to comfort you. It doesn’t work. 

“The leftover mecha suits that are here, is there a way to discreetly sabotage them?” You ask, Zhu Li grins. 

“I made those with Varrick, that’ll be a piece of cake.” 

“We need to work on those immediately while this place is still empty…” You pinch your brows together as you think of another way to help. “Do you… can you make yourself one of those electrical gloves, I read the equalists used them and you might need one tonight?” 

“I don’t know where I would get the materials for that but I know what it takes to make one.” 

You both begin to jog over to the row of mecha suits left behind, Kuvira will probably have some of her weaker soldiers take these. Zhu Li grabs a wrench from a nearby work table and gets to work on disabling them, you stand guard. When she’s on her third one you hear a buzzing sound from behind you, you whip around and see the train fast approaching. Baatar shouldn’t be back so soon. 

You grab Zhu Li’s arm and pull her behind a crate as the train whizzes past, that nosy little shit has just made your plans ten times more difficult. “Is there some kind of faster way to dismantle them all at once?” 

Zhu Li shakes her head. “Not without it being obvious that they are damaged.” 

“We should keep working on these, I’ll try to scope out where Baatar is going so I know if we need to stop.” Zhu Li nods and gets back to work as you run towards the train platform. If you have to, you are okay with knocking Baatar out and locking him up somewhere until this is all over, but you know that’ll just make things more difficult. 

When you get close enough to the platform you hide behind a jeep and watch as Baatar and a few men get off, strangely enough, Varrick isn’t among them. Looking beyond the platform you see that Kuvira’s troops are gone, but some tracks lead to Zaofu… she went through with it. 

“Get me a jeep, I need to tell Kuvira what happened,” Baatar’s nasal voice breaks you out of your thoughts. One of his soldiers starts to head towards your jeep, fuck. You slowly back up and dive behind a crate to keep yourself from being seen. 

The engine revs to life, the jeep leaves a cloud of dust in its wake as the soldier drives over the platform to pick up everyone. Good, you're still alone. You hesitate, waiting to make sure they don’t turn back to the encampment and don’t move until the car is a mere speck in the distance. 

When you return Zhu Li is on the third to last one. Thank the spirits, you look around the area to make sure there isn’t any evidence of her work, no fallen screws or dented panels, but everything looks perfectly normal. Never in your life did you think you’d be doing something like this, going against your soulmate and attempting to sabotage a militaries forces

Your heart still pounds as you try to keep watch, with every little noise Zhu Li makes as she works, fear squeezes tighter at your heart. “I’m done,” she calls from behind you. 

You jump in surprise and place a hand over your heart, “sorry I-”

“I know” she gives you a reassuring look before she puts the wrench back where she found it. 

You're on your way to the mess hall with Zhu Li when you pass the weapons tent. Stopping in your tracks as an idea pops into your head you grab Zhu Li by the arm and tug her inside. “What are we doing here?” 

“If we can’t get you one of those shocker thingies then you need to pick out a weapon from here, it should be something small and easy to conceal.” Zhu Li nods and slowly walks over to a shelf lined with weapons. Her eyes drift between the weapons hanging up, then down to the ones left laying on a table.

You don’t want to rush her but it’s been a few hours and people might start coming back soon. After the most agonizing ten minutes of your life, she picks up some kind of gun with a thick, clear cylinder. “What is that?” 

“A tranquilizer. We can use this on any guards that we come across tonight.” She grabs a couple of refills and tucks them, along with the now emptied gun, into her jacket for safekeeping. You both leave after that and keep walking to your destination. 

As you reach it, you notice the first group of soldiers return. Both of you sit down and try to idly chat about things like  _ where did you grow up?  _ Or  _ what made you become an assistant?  _ So that anyone who passes doesn’t think anything suspicious of you two. 

As the sun starts to go down, more and more people have returned and the mess hall is filled to the brim with hungry men and women who seem to be celebrating their easy victory. 

You got up at some point and grabbed some food for Zhu Li and yourself, both of you seem to struggle with forcing the food down as everyone around you is laughing at the fall of the once-great Zaofu. It sickens you when you hear someone from behind talk about the defeat of the once great Beifongs. It’s only later, as you're walking back to your tent, that you encounter a complication. 

That same general from last night is standing outside your tent, waiting for you. “What do you want?” 

“Kuvira asked me to help you transfer your things into Zaofu,” he eyes you as he speaks. You scoff. 

“You can run back to Kuvira and tell her I am not setting foot in Zaofu.” You try to push past him but he grabs your forearm, his grip is so tight it causes you to hiss out. 

“I mean what I said about me not getting demoted because of some bratty friend of Kuvira’s who can’t follow orders,” he snarls as he leans down to get in your face. You heart pounds, he’s so much taller than you, so much bigger. You try to yank your arm out of his grasp but he pulls you closer. “Get your things so I can take you to Zaofu.” 

He pushes you into the tent and stands guard at the entrance, preventing you from leaving. You know if you told Kuvira what he just did he’d not only be demoted but fired altogether, but that requires walking into Zaofu and you can’t look at what she’s done to it. 

General Yin is high up, he’s one of Kuvira’s most trusted Generals. He’d probably know exactly where the Beifongs are being kept… 

You pack up everything into the trunk but keep your armor on and exit the tent. “I’m not leaving without my friend,” you say defiantly and stick your chin up, settling your glare on his face. He rolls his eyes in annoyance and says “then take me to them.” 

You walk over to where Zhu Li says she’d be sleeping and once in front of you and call out, “uh, Zhu Li?” 

She peaks her head out and pinches her brows together in confusion at the sight of you with the General close behind. “We’re going to Zaofu, make sure to get  _ all _ of your things.” She nods and ducks back inside. A couple of minutes pass before she emerges with a backpack and an overcoat on. General Yin doesn’t think anything suspicious of it as he leads you to a jeep where you place your trunk in the back. 

Both you and Zhu Li sit in the back and he speeds off towards Zaofu, you don’t know what to do, you didn’t think about how you’d get him to talk, just that you would. Halfway through the drive, you shout over the whistling of the wind “I have to pee!” 

“Hold it!” 

“I can’t! I think I’m about to wet myself, just pull over and I’ll go behind a tree.” He pulls over towards the forest and puts the car into park. When you get out so does he and he even follows you to the tree that you pick. “Uhm… Some privacy would be nice.” 

He swiftly turns his back to you but remains close, you pull at the zipper of your pants so he can hear it, your heart is pounding so fast you can hear it in your ears and feel it in your fingertips. You’ve never attacked someone before. 

Without a second thought you bend the earth until it’s up to his waist, he lets out a shout of surprise and as he raises his hands to bend back you hit him right in chi on the side of his neck. When he tries, nothing happens. He lets out a panicked “what did you do to me?!” 

Zhu Li jumps out of the jeep as you zip your pants back up before walking around to look him in the eyes. “Where are the Beifongs being held?” 

“Like I’d tell you!” He squirms and continues to try to bend, he’s terrified. Perhaps in different circumstances, you’d feel bad for doing this to someone but he did grip you so hard you can already feel a bruise coming. This will teach him to be nicer to others.

You tighten the rocks around his waist causing him to let out a shocked groan of pain. “Tell us where they are and the damage I do to you will be minimal.” 

“Aren’t you Kuvira’s little pet?” He spits out. Your eyes widen at his implication and squeeze tighter. 

“I have a lot of pent up rage and I am not afraid of hurting you!” You shoot up two more pieces of earth that grab onto his hands and bend him back. He cries out in pain and you hear Zhu Li gasp behind you. “Now, where are the Beifongs?” 

When a minute goes by and he doesn’t respond, you bend him back further. “Fine! Okay fine just please stop” he shouts. You let go of his hands and he slumps in the piece of earth holding his lower half tightly. “They’re being held in some wooden cage outside of the city, Kuvira has them on one of those special trucks for transport.” 

_ Special trucks… _ Those are platinum. “How many guards?” 

“I-I don’t know” he looks between the two of you, “I really don’t know please don’t bend my arms back again.” 

“Give me an estimate, you’re one of Kuvira’s top men. How many do you think she’d station around that truck?” 

“Probably five or six, they're important.” 

Zhu Li sighs and steps forward. “You're gonna take us to the truck and if you make one wrong move I won’t stop y/n from doing whatever she wants to you.” Your eyes widen a fraction, you’ve never heard her talk like that before. 

He vigorously nods and you bend the rock that keeps his body held firmly away. Before he can even think about attacking you, you bend two of the extra pieces of your armor to cuff his hands. “Zhu Li, you should keep your gun out,” you say to her, she nods and pulls it out of her jacket. General Yin's eyes widen as she points it at him. “Well, we don’t have all night.” 

He stumbles through the darkness of the woods as he leads you uphill. Zhu Li keeps her finger on the trigger of her tranquilizer as you keep your hands at the ready, every step you take you feel the earth around you to keep yourself prepared in case he tries to run. 

When you see lights up ahead you wrap a piece of metal around his mouth and put your hand on his shoulder to keep him in place. Between the trees, you can see it’s one of those massive trucks with a roof over the bed, the back is facing you which offers you a glimpse of Huan, you think his name is. He has his face pressed against the side of the wooden cage as he stares off into space. 

There are six guards like General Yin predicted. “We should knock him out,” you whisper to Zhu Li. She nods and points the gun at his back before pulling the trigger, a dart shoots out of the barrel and you hear him let out a muffled groan before he slumps over. You wrap your arms around him to keep him from falling onto the floor, she wraps her arms around him to help gently place him on the floor. For good measure, you bend the earth beneath him until only his head is sticking out. 

You and Zhu Li crouch behind a large boulder as you peek around to check out the scene. “How do we do this?” 

“They can’t see me, we already have to figure out what to do with General Yin…” You reply. 

“Can you bend from behind this rock? You could make some kind of distraction and I can try to take them out with the tranquilizer.” It’s the best option and only idea that either of you can think of, so you nod. 

You peek around the rock again to get a sense of the layout before whipping back behind and letting out a deep, shaky breath. You can’t fuck this up, this is not the time to run off crying or be weak. This is for her, for Kuvira, you remind yourself. This is for your future and happiness. 

When you lean forward you have half your face hidden behind the rock and you're knelt low to the ground to try and offer you coverage. 

“Do you know when our shift is over?” One guy asks. You pause to listen in. 

“I think like an hour or two,” another says as he kicks a rock. “This is so boring.” 

“I know right, everyone is celebrating right now and we’re stuck on guard duty.” You roll your eyes at the one guy's complaint before taking a deep, steady breath. You got this. 

Placing a palm on the ground, you slowly clench your fist causing a large crack to go right underneath the center of the truck. 

“What the fuck?!” With both of your hands, you push with all your strength and the crack widens. Zhu Li takes the opportunity and shoots one of the guards in the very back of the neck, he falls with a thud and the guard closest to him turns around. He opens his mouth to shout, so you bend off a piece of metal from your armor and shoot it towards him. It wraps around his mouth right as Zhu Li points her gun towards him and pulls the trigger. 

Two down, three to go. 

“Show yourself!” One shouts. One of them starts to bend bushes out of the way to try and find where you're hiding, you tap Zhu Li’s shoulder and point to him, she seems to get the message because she takes him out next. The only problem is the other two men saw exactly where the dart came from.  _ Fuck _ . 

There’s a medium-sized rock next to one of the two, so you bend it and fling it towards him. He narrowly jumps out of the way, doing that distracts the other guard which gives Zhu Li the chance to shoot at him next. “I don’t have any darts left,” she says in a panicked voice, you’ll have to take this guy out the old fashioned way. “Well I guess we’ll have two guys to worry about,” you say before revealing yourself. 

The guard pauses, his eyes widen as he sees you take a step towards him. “But…” 

You charge, shooting a piece of the earth into the air, you twirl with the grace of a dancer and fling it at him, with the force of your throw it speeds towards him. He shoots up a small wall made of rock to protect him, your rock hits. Due to the impact, parts of his wall crumbles. You can see him because of that crumble, see him running towards the driver’s seat of the truck. 

_ Every car has a radio… _ You race forward and bend a wall up that blocks the door to the driver's side of the car, whilst he breaks it down you advance behind him and grab his arm. He whirls around to stare at you in horror. He pushes against you, effectively making you stumble back. You think of Bolin, of how he did that once and you fell onto your back with a groan. You think of the days spent learning how to take down someone with your fists, but most importantly you remember what he said one day. 

_ “You might hate fighting, but one day you’ll need to think about what's for the best and throw a punch.”  _ Taking down this greasy asshole is what's best, you tell yourself as you punch him in the nose. 

“Fuck!” He stumbles back and clutches his nose, whilst he’s distracted you bend the earth underneath to effectively trap his body from the collarbone down. There’s blood trickling out of his nose, you’ve never made someone bleed before. _ This is for the best.  _

You bring your hand down in the same spot you did General Yin, rendering the guard of his bending so you don’t have to worry about him escaping. You turn around and see Zhu Li look at you with this look of surprise. “Who knew you could throw a punch,” she says, breaking the silence. 

You both head to the opening of the truck. “Y/n?” You hear Suyin say, she grips the wood and looks at the both of you with wide eyes, “Zhu Li?” 

“Is there a door to this thing?” You point at the cage and Suyin looks up. “It’s above us but it’s locked.” You nod and look over at Zhu Li. 

“One of these guards probably has a key or something we can use to break it open.” You both search the guards but come up empty, even the guy you punched doesn’t have them, which when you bend some of the earth away to check his pockets but still keep his feet and hands encased, he curses you out. 

“Kuvira will find out about this, she’ll kill you in an instant” he spits out in rage. You look up and into his, part of you wonders if she will. You don’t think so, but you’ve seen her slipping these past few days and it seems she left a piece of herself at each stop you guys made during the tour. 

“That requires someone telling her,” you say as you bend the earth back up to his collarbone. No key… You walk over to the truck entrance and sigh. “Zhu Li, can I see your gun?” 

She gives it to you, sending a quizzical look your way. You ignore it as you climb inside and then climb to the top of the wooden cage. You grab the gun so the handle is facing downward, your hands gripping the barrel.

Before you begin, you look into the openings of the wooden cage and make eye contact with Suyin. “I have terms,” you say, everyone looks shocked. “If I let you out, Kuvira won’t be imprisoned, instead sh-” 

“Y/n, she has to face the punishme-” 

“She will be put on house arrest in a city of  _ my _ choosing. If you try to imprison her then I expect the same treatment for your son.” Silence follows so you continue. “You won’t try to kill her again and you will take Zhu Li, along with these two guards, with you to Republic City where you will give the Avatar vital information we found.” 

“Y/n she’s a monster, nothing can be done to fix the damage she’s cau-” You squeeze your eyes shut. You are so done of being talked over and interrupted, of being silenced. 

“She did what she thought was best, if you had put your pride aside and helped the earth kingdom when asked we wouldn’t be put in this mess. Her intentions were pure when this started, but trying to bring order when you're just some nobody isn’t easy. Sacrifices were made and she’s lost herself but she’s still in there, I know it. I will leave you in here and turn my back on you, on this, if you don’t agree to my terms.” 

Your palms feel sweaty and you have to cling tighter to the gun to keep it from slipping. Neither of you breaks eye contact, you glare into her green eyes as you await a response. Suyin’s eyes widen and a look of… recognition? Settles on her features. 

“She’s your soulmate, isn’t she?” Very slowly, you nod. “I knew Junior wasn’t it.” Suyin clenches her fists as she sighs. “Fine, I agree to your terms.” 

“If you break your promise, I’ll destroy  _ everything _ .” You whisper the last word but she hears you loud and clear. Suyin gulps and nods in understanding. As you exhale you smash it down onto the lock, it rattles. You do it again, as hard as you can and this time there’s the smallest of cracks. You keep doing it, your arms ache but you have to get them out and quickly. 

Soon your chi block might wear off on that one dude or the guards for the next shift might show up. It feels like all your dreams come true when it finally snaps open. You toss the gun to Zhu Li who catches it. You fling open the latch and climb down. 

Suyin and Baatar Sr. give their kids a boost so they can climb out. After all three are out, Baatar Sr. helps Suyin out, once she’s out she lays flat on her stomach and grips onto him, helping pull him out. 

You climb out of the truck and sigh. “You need to take General Yin and that-” you point at the guard behind you, the one still awake “one as well.” You bend the earth away from the guard, Wing and Wei pick him up and carry him over to the bed of the truck. You lead Suyin over to Yin, who is thankfully still passed out. You both bend the earth back into the ground and each takes aside as you lug him over as well. 

“What are you going to say?” Zhu Li asks, you pinch your brows together and look down at your feet. 

“I…” You begin. You look around at the scene before you, General Yin and that guard can bend earth, there are obvious works of a bender at the scene. “You and General Yin teamed up together to break out the Beifongs, Yin was working with the guard as well…” 

“She won’t believe it” Suyin pipes up. “You're squeaky clean and he’s one of her top generals.” 

Suddenly the image of her on the verge of a panic attack flashes to life.

_ “Did you know?” she spits out.  _

She’s already suspected you once in the last two days, Suyin's right. “You should come with us,” Zhu Li says. You shake your head and purse your lips. 

“Maybe if I’m a bit messed she’ll believe me.” 

“What do you mean?” Baatar Sr. inquires. 

“I need one of you guys to uh… hit me in the face.” You look at everyone and they all look at each other in contemplation. It’s Wei who steps up as he pushes his sleeves up for dramatic effect. 

“I’m pretty angry at you and Kuvira so I’ll do it.” You let out a weak laugh and square your shoulders, Suyin places a hand on Wei’s shoulder and looks into your eyes. “You don’t need to do this.” 

“Yes I do, we need to make this believable,” you look over at Wei. “Leave my eyes alone, you need to leave a mark though.” 

Wei lets out a deep sigh as he gets into a fighting stance, you squeeze your eyes as you wait for impact. A minute stretches by and you're about to tell him to just do it when his fist collides with your cheekbone on the right side of your face. Intense pain encases your face as you stumble back. Before you can fall someone catches you as you cradle your face in pain. 

That is going to leave a mark. Zhu Li places you back on your feet, you faintly hear Suyin scolding Wei. “I need…” you groan as more pain shoots into your cheekbone from moving your mouth. “I need Yin’s empty dart.” 

Zhu Li looks through her jacket pockets before pulling it out and handing it to you. “Can you get back to the jeep by yourself?” 

“I’ll be fine, you guys need to hurry though. A guard switch should be happening soon.” The three Beifong children pile into the trunk of the car along with Zhu Li as Baatar Sr. heads to the driver's seat, Suyin stays behind for a minute as she gives you a quick once over.

“I… I promise to stick to my terms.” You nod, scared of the pain that will most likely happen if you smile, she slowly walks over to the passenger seat and climbs in. The engine roars to life and soon they are speeding down the dirt road that leads to a tunnel. Your walk back to the jeep is agonizing, it’s almost pitch blackout and every twig that snaps has you spinning around to see if someone’s following you. 

When the jeep finally comes into sight you let out a breath of relief. You probably look a little too polished so begrudgingly you cup some dirt in your hands and smear some on your good cheek, neck, and a little bit on your clothes for good measure. It has to look like you were knocked out and put up a fight. 

You set the dart onto the passenger seat and let your hair down from your updo, Kuvira makes sure all the women in her command have their hair out of their face to keep distractions to a minimum. Running your fingers through it a few times to mess it up you look in the rearview mirror of the car and sigh, this is the best you're gonna get. 

Putting the keys into the ignition, you drive towards the place you once called home.


	4. part four

You don’t know how you're going to pull off a lie this big, when it came to the secrecy of your relationship with Kuvira it was more like omitting the truth, you technically are close friends you just didn’t elaborate on  _ how close.  _

Before today that was the biggest lie you’ve kept, but as you slowly drive to the front terminal of the main dome you realize how much easier it was to keep because you weren’t keeping it from  _ her _ . 

Instead of speeding off towards your destination, you take your time, the sooner you arrive the sooner Kuvira would send men to look for Suyin and Zhu Li. Part of you desperately wants to floor it, Wei didn’t hold back from his punch and now you feel the beginning of a splitting headache seep through your head. 

But you’ll be fine, a little pain will be okay so long as everyone is safe. When you get a bit closer, the sight before you has you stepping on the brakes. The domes… They’re gone. The sun has been down for hours and yet the city is visible as the metal that once protected it is laying on the ground.  _ What has she done? _

Your heart pounds as you pull up to the entrance of the city, some guards are standing by the empty tram when you pull up. Killing the engine you jump out and grab your chest from the trunk. “Why are you alone?” One of the men asked, most likely the one in charge of this section. 

“Something happened, I need to see Kuvira immediately.” The authoritative tone of your voice, a way you’ve never really spoken before, sets the guards in motion. One of them takes your chest and gently places it inside whilst the other heads into the operating booth. You step inside the empty vehicle and sit down by a window. 

The doors snap shut and with a slight jolt, the tram comes to life. You nervously fiddle with your hands as you try to come up with lies for any questions she may fire your way. The entire ride you keep your gaze on your lap, not wanting to see what's become of your hometown. You don’t want to see your parents anymore, not until you’ve achieved your goal. The idea of them seeing you, thinking you're on the wrong side of history makes you sick to your stomach.

After a few minutes, the tram comes to a gentle stop and the doors open up, when you look out you realize you're in the Beifong dome, there’s a residential area in here as well but it mainly consists of the family grounds. A guard steps in and takes your chest for you. 

“I’m meant to take you to Kuvira” he explains, his eyes stray to your cheek for a moment. You stare back until he realizes he’s been caught. His eyes widen as he clears his throat and begins to walk off. You follow after him, keeping your gaze straight ahead. 

It shouldn’t shock you, but when he leads you into the Beifong estate, you can’t help but feel like you don’t belong. The only other time you’ve been inside here was a few days ago when you tried to peacefully convince Suyin to concede but it feels like forever ago. 

You lose count of how many turns you take before he reaches a sitting room, different from the other one, that has it’s doors already open. Kuvira is sitting on the couch with a clenched jaw whilst Baatar is standing by the alcohol cart. When you both step inside, Kuvira’s eyes snap to you, her gaze darkens as it settles on your face and she immediately gets up to walk over to you. 

“What happened, where’s General Yin?” She barks out, her fingers reach up to lightly touch the bruise. Upon contact you flinch away, hissing in pain and her gaze softens. Baatar looks over his shoulder and scoffs at the sight of you as he downs his drink. 

“I…” you begin, your voice shakes. “He attacked me.” Baatar looks at you with a brow quirked in skepticism. 

Kuvira’s fast reddens in anger, “what do you mean he attacked you?” 

“H-He and Zhu Li they were… I guess working together I don’t know it’s a blur.” She stares you down and you feel so small under her frightening glare. What could make this more believable? You think, and it hits you,  _ tears _ . 

You’ve never tried to cry on demand before but you squeeze your eyes shut as you force flashes of some of your worst nightmares to play before your eyes. 

_ Kuvira admits she loves Baatar.  _

_ Your parents dying.  _

_ Her… dying. _

All three squeeze at your heart but your pesky brain focuses on the last one. An image of her laying on the rubble of a building with a rod stuck in her stomach as blood drips from her mouth. Her skin is becoming paler by the second and no matter how loudly you scream for help, everyone around you stands and watches as she dies in your arms.

Hands gently cup your jaw and pull you out of your torture, Kuvira’s glare has vanished as she tries to wipe away your tears. “What do you remember?” 

Her voice is soft now, soothing even. You let out a shaky breath as you force yourself to focus on that awful scene. “He stopped the car a-and they both got out. She tried to make me come with but I wouldn’t and…” 

You hear Baatar spit out “spirits,” as he refills his glass. Kuvira stays quiet as she listens, silently urging you to continue. 

“He got so angry, they… um they fought about it and I tried to stop them both but he got so angry at me for messing up their plan that he... “ You gulp, “I woke up with a dart stuck in my neck.” 

“Where’s the dart?” Baatar calls out, Kuvira rolls her eyes at his question as she reluctantly drops her hands and takes a step back. You dig your hand into your jacket and fiddle with it, your hands are clammy so it keeps slipping. Finally, your fingers wrap around it and you pull it out for Kuvira to see. 

She grabs it from your hand and growls out “this is one of our own.” She looks into your eyes once more, at your messy appearance and tears rushing down your face. Your mind twists the image of her death, in this version her death is your fault… You didn’t do enough, didn’t stop this in time and she paid the price of your inability. You choke out a sob at the idea of her wheezing as blood gushes from her head. “Let’s get you to your room.” 

Kuvira settles a hand on your shoulder and leads you away, the guard with your chest follows as you walk down the winding hallway before stopping at a large door. The guard opens it up and places your chest at the foot of your bed before scurrying out. He closes the door behind him, leaving the two of you alone. Kuvira flicks her wrist, effectively bending the lock into place before pulling you into her arms. 

You grip the back of her shirt as you continue to cry, you can’t will the image away now no matter how hard you try. It’s ingrained in your brain, clawed itself into the deepest corners of your mind, and settled in for life. 

“You're safe,” she says softly, one of her hands running through your hair. “I won’t let anyone ever lay a hand on you ever again.” She kisses the top of your head before gently tugging you towards the bathroom. She lets go of your hand and begins to fill the bathtub up with water. You bend your armor off then take off your clothes. Your eyes never leave her form as she grabs some oils and bubbles from a cabinet and pours some in, a rosy fragrance fills the room as the bubbles multiple. 

Kuvira turns the water off and turns to look at you. “Will you… get in with me?” Kuvira nods and helps you get in the tub before beginning to undress. You pull your legs up to your chest and space out as you look at all the bubbles in front of you. 

You don’t think you’ve taken a bath with her before. The showers on the train were small and she’d usually enter your room a little bit after midnight. She climbs in behind you and slides her legs on either side of your hips. You rest your head on her chest and sigh. Being close to her like this helps ease your fears and worries. 

The Beifongs are hopefully far away from here by now, and Kuvira is very much alive as she wraps her arms around your waist. You think she bought your lie, you think if she didn’t you wouldn’t be taking a bath right now. 

At some point she cleans the dirt off your face with a wet cloth, she avoids your bruised cheek though. With her free hand, she brings her thumb up and gently places it on your lip as her fingers gently grip your chin to make you look at her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” 

“It’s not your fault, Vira.” You press a kiss to her thumb as your hand trails up to her cheek. She leans into your touch, the two of you sit there staring at each other until you feel your skin turn pruny. 

Reluctantly you both get out of the bath and wrap each other in robes, she pulls you into a soft kiss that you eagerly reciprocate, one of your hands went up to her bun and pulled out the pins keeping it in place. Her black waves fall around her shoulders in a beautiful mess of curls, you think, while you pull away from her, how lucky you are to have been given such a beautiful soulmate. 

“It is my fault, everyone knows I’m close to you and the target on my back grows larger with every day that passes. What if next time they kill you?” Her voice cracks at the end and your heart breaks because you just had a bit of a breakdown at the idea of losing her, so you understand.

“I am not going to die, I promise. I don’t think anyone is stupid enough to try that.” People may not know that you're her soulmate but they do know that you two are very close. She runs her fingers through your hair and sighs. She pulls you out of the bathroom and towards the bed where she begins to untie your robe. 

You flush as Kuvira slides it off your shoulders and lets it fall to the ground, at the sight of your naked form she groans before pulling you into a gentle kiss, her hands come up to cup your face- for the side that's bruised her hand lays on your jaw- as she softly licks your bottom lip and you open your mouth up for her as you wrap your arms around her neck.

As her tongue caresses your own, you feel something wet drop onto your face that has you slowly pulling away and opening up your eyes. She’s crying. “Vira…” 

Her lips brush against your own as she says in a pained voice “I thought you left me when an hour went by without your arrival.” Your heart clenches. You begin to kiss away her tears, she squeezes her eyes shut as you try to ease her worries, her fears. 

“I’ll never leave you,” you whisper in her ear, your lips trailing down her neck as you leave soft kisses against her tan skin. “I might be upset but I will never leave, love you too much to leave.” She pulls you into another kiss, this one a bit more forceful, she’s trying to fill herself up with you to keep surviving, you're her fuel and she’s running low. 

She slowly walks you backward until your knees hit the edge of the bed, you fall onto the plush mountain of pillows as Kuvira unties her robe before straddling your hips. “I love you,” she murmurs as she kisses your neck, one of her hands placed beside your head to hold herself up while the other slowly run down your side, her fingers light as a feather. 

Those soft lips you love oh so much trail down your collarbone, she places a kiss right between your breasts before lifting her head to lay a soft kiss to each nipple, you arch your back, letting out a soft whine as she softly licks at one of them, then blows onto it. She repeats herself with your other one before continuing to trail her kisses down to your core. 

Kuvira kisses your hip bones before nuzzling her face in your stomach and sighing. One of your hands goes to softly grip her hair and she looks up at you through her lashes with her gaze so full of love it leaves you frozen in its wake. Kuvira places a kiss on your stomach before trailing down once more. She leaves a soft kiss on your pubic bone before she slowly ducks down and licks a strip up your slit. You let out a sigh of relief and wiggle your hips, trying to get more out of her. 

She uses her fingers to spread you open as her other arm drapes itself across your stomach to keep you in place. Kuvira continues to slowly lick up a few more times, each time her tongue reaches your clit she applies a bit more pressure, leaving you a panting mess in need of more. 

Finally, as if deciding you’ve suffered enough she dips her tongue inside you. You throw your head back as she uses her thumb to gently rub at your clit, her gentleness is so different from her usual rough behavior in bed (not that you mind, you love both sides of her) but you don’t think she’s been this slow and loving with you since her engagement. 

Kuvira pulls her tongue out of you and replaces it with fingers, her mouth immediately gets to your bundle of nerves where she wraps her lips around your clit and sucks. The arm thrown across your hips moves, her hand going to squeeze at your breast. “Fuck… Vira,” you moan out as she continues to pump her fingers deep inside you at an agonizingly slow pace. 

She removes her lips from you for a moment to say through pants “I just wanna feel you, all of you,” before diving back in. Both of your hands tightly grip at her black tresses, pulling a moan out of her that vibrates against you. She feels you clench around her fingers so Kuvira adds a third and slightly picks up her speed. It’s not as fast as she usually goes but she wants to gently pull it from you, wants to take her time with you because she was so sure you’d finally left her. 

“Come for me, love. Please.” She says, having briefly pulled away from you, she’s swirling her tongue around your clit with her fingers curling inside you, her hand once squeezing your breast is now gently rolling your nipple between her fingers. When she thrusts her fingers back into you, you snap. A string of loud, breathy moans escapes you as you ground yourself on her fingers and let go. 

She fucks you through your orgasm, licking around her fingers as she continues to pump into you. When you feel yourself slowly come down, you gently try to pry Kuvira off of your sensitive core. She resists and instead pulls out her fingers which she happily sucks clean, her gaze locking with your own. When she’s sucked off all of you, she leans down and licks you clean. You jolt at the feeling of her tongue licking up your slit and let out a soft cry, _ “Kuvira.”  _

Once she deems you clean enough she pulls away and leaves a soft kiss on both of your inner thighs before climbing up to kiss you. You moan as you taste yourself on her and eagerly grant her access to your mouth where you both softly run your tongues across one another. You ease your grip on her hair and slowly move them down to cup her cheeks. 

You both kiss each other for a few minutes with your legs wrapped tightly around her hips before you slowly pull away, with both hands on her shoulders you flip the two of you around so you're on top, she laughs, full-on wide smile, head thrown back laugh and you grin. 

“My turn,” you say, kissing  _ that _ spot right under her ear, and her laughter halts as her breath hitches in her throat. You place a knee between her legs, situated against her core and she immediately rubs herself against it, she’s already so wet which you know is from getting you off. Kuvira might be the dominant one out of the two of you, but she got off on pleasuring you. 

“Y/n '' she moans out as you trail your lips down to her breasts, knowing that her neck is off limits you begin to litter her chest and shoulders with as many lovebites as you can, she continues to grind herself against you. Something about her so desperately trying to get off on your leg has you moaning as you wrap your lips around her nipple, you look up at her through your lashes. The sight is a masterpiece, Kuvira’s head is thrown to the side, half-buried in a pillow as she lets out sharp pants with lovebites scattered across her tan skin. 

You release her nipple, taking the neglected one into your mouth and swirling your tongue around the hardening bud. Giving a gentle tug that has her reaching to pull your hair, you let go of it and crawl down. You remove your leg from Kuvira’s core, causing her to emit a frustrated groan.

But you ignore her, when you get down to her lower regions your eyes land on her soulmate mark etched across her left hip bone, _ “Would you mind helping me memorize the routine?”  _ glares back at you. It seems like yesterday that you nervously walked up to the woman you thought was just so beautiful and said those words. You press a gentle kiss to her mark, Kuvira looks down at you with this gaze full of unending love that makes you want to cry. 

You pull away from her and work you way down to her glistening slit, her slickness is covering her thighs, and  _ fuck, _ Kuvira never loses control like this. You press a trail of kisses up her right inner thigh, once you get to the very top you lick her thigh clean before turning to do the same to the other. 

Finally, you decide enough is enough and press your tongue inside of her, swirling around and caressing her walls. Kuvira lets out a raspy gasp and she pushes herself against you, loving the way you're making her feel. You gently press your thumb against her clit, adding a bit of pressure before rolling it between two of your fingers. Goodness, Kuvira tastes amazing and you don’t think you’ll ever get tired of her, you fervently keep going, your tongue slowly darting in and out as it licks up any of her cum and soon Kuvira clenching against you, her thighs came up to wrap around your head but you don’t mind, it just makes you go faster, trying so desperately to push her over the edge.

“I’m… I’m gonna” she moans out as she tilts her hips up and lets out a scream that has her biting the pillow beside her. You hum in approval as she lets go and licks her up like you're a starved woman. Slowly her legs loosen and then fall back down, her thighs shaking as you pull away from her. You pant as you try to catch your breath, some of her cum drips down your chin and onto your chest, the sight has Kuvira’s eyes widening in delight.

You climb off the bed and grab two towels, one of them you use to wipe your face off and between your legs whilst the other is for your lover. You climb back up and gently wipe away the mess you’ve made, she grabs your hand and tugs you forward, effectively getting you to fall onto the bed. You toss the dirty towel behind you and pull her close, resting your head on her chest. 

“I love you,” she says, her voice is raspy and low from her screaming. You press an innocent kiss to her chest and whisper back “I love you too.” 

* * *

  
  
Perhaps it’s the fact that your sleeping in a new place or the fact that your tongue fucking caused her to sleep in. All you know is that when you open your eyes, the sun is up and has cast the room in an ethereal type glow. Your heart drops as you hear the sounds of the guards outside practicing fighting in what once was the meteorite garden and people walking past your bedroom door. 

“Vira…” You whisper and gently shake her awake. Your lover’s eyes slowly flicker open and stare back at you in confusion. “Vira everyone's awake.” 

The effectively wakes her up, she pushes you off of her and looks around the room in a panic, her hair is an absolute mess that has you swell with pride, and your eyes land on her chest. Spirits you did a number on her. She immediately gets up and looks around for her clothes, not even bothering to put her robe on. You get up to help her, as you make your way to the bathroom to search, you both stop dead in your tracks. 

There’s incessant knocking at your door, well more like slamming, it stops for a moment and you wonder if the person has left but your hopes are dashed when in an all too familiar nasally voice you hear “Y/n let me in!” 

“Why?!” You shout back as you shove your lover in the bathroom, she closes the doors behind her and you quickly throw on and tie up a robe. When you walk past the large mirror by the door you stop, there is no denying what just went on in here. Spirits the smell is still here, but then a thought strikes you as he goes back to pounding on the door. 

Baatar is necessary for Kuvira to succeed… And you don’t want her too. You let out a deep sigh, preparing yourself for what's about to happen before unlocking the door. The second he hears the click of the locks he’s opening the door himself and pushing through, you stumble back and glare at him. “What the fuck, Baatar?” 

“The staff said she didn’t leave this room last night, so where is she?” He growls out. Baatar pushes past you and looks around the room, taking in the tossed cloths, extra robe on the floor, and rumbled sheets. “Spirits Baatar I know you hate our friendship but do you really think you have the right to act like this?” 

“It’s lunchtime,” he spits out, spinning around to stalk towards you. “She is up at the crack of dawn every morning to practice her bending and go over any paperwork that may have accumulated, then we eat breakfast together and go over blueprints  _ that I made! _ ” He points to himself, screaming out the end of his sentence. Out of fear maybe, or pent up anger you honestly don’t know, you slap him across the face.

The sound echoes through the grandiose room as he holds his reddened cheek. “What are you trying to say,  _ Junior? _ ” 

“I know your in love with her, you practically eye fuck her anytime she enters a room, it’s so disgusting and desperate and I know she is still here so where is she?” You want to bend the metal around him and fling him through the glass window, but he needs to know. He needs to find out. 

“I don’t know you,” you lie, your eyes flickering to the bathroom door. Baatar looks over his shoulder at where your gaze strayed before stalking over and wrenching open the double doors. Inside is Kuvira, hair still a mess with her boots and pants on in the middle of buttoning up her shirt. All of your bite marks are on display for him to see. 

“Baatar…” She begins, his face is beet red with his fists clenched at his sides. “I can explain.” 

“How long have you been with her? How long have you been lying to me!” He tries to get in her face as he did to you. You think he’d have learned after you slapped him but it seems the lesson didn’t stick. Kuvira bends a large piece of metal off the wall and pushes him back with it. Baatar goes flying onto his back and slams into the foot of the bed. 

“I don’t answer to you, I don’t know what makes you think you could ever treat me like that, I am the great uniter and I do not take lightly to men trying to instill fear in me,” she growls out. Stalking towards him with her shirt still unbuttoned, she grabs onto the collar of his shirt and pulls him up into a sitting position. Her face is so close to his, “I wanted to keep you around after I broke it to you, but if this is how you're going to act, then I might as well lock you up like I did your family.” 

His eyes widen as Kuvira calls for the guards, “at least tell me how long, how long did you make a fool out of me?” 

“Three years,” you answer. His mouth drops open in shock as the guard's filter in, “take him away and lock him up. I’ll stop by to talk to him later.” The guards grab him by the arms to drag him away, he doesn’t stop them as he tries to process your words.  _ Three years.  _


	5. part five

You don’t know what you’re doing here, it’s probably a guilty conscience. After Kuvira had Baatar dragged off she finished changing and left for her room to finish fixing herself up. She didn’t even acknowledge you on her way out, probably too shocked at her grand scheme falling apart to process anything. She hasn’t left her room all day and the dinner you had one of the maids give to her had remained untouched outside of her door. 

For now, comforting her would have to wait. You walk down to where they were keeping Baatar, the old jail in the guardhouse that from your knowledge never really got used. Everyone was watching you as you walked down the street, you tried not to let it bother you, even Kuvira’s men were watching with wide eyes. 

Gossip travels fast and you're sure Baatar threw a fit after the shock wore off. You remember General Yin calling you Kuvira’s plaything, how much that hurt because whilst you were her soulmate, that wasn’t far from the truth. But now you're humiliated, everyone must think that of you now. Clenching your fists you let out a deep sigh, opening the door to the jailhouse you slam the door on all those stares that burn into your back. 

The guard inside jumps in surprise at the slam, his eyes widen when they land on you “Y/n! I didn’t know you were coming, what can I help you with?” 

“I’m here to see Junior, please take me to him.” He stiffly nods and walks down the stairs to the cells while you follow a few paces after him. It’s dark inside, the floors are made of wood with walls and ceilings covered in platinum, a perfect cage for a bender, even though Junior was never given such a gift. 

As you walk past you notice some of the cells have people inside them, old citizens of Zaofu. Some seem familiar, whilst others don’t ring a bell. This must be where they are keeping anyone who defied Kuvira’s invasion, a wave of relief washes over you when you don’t see your parents in any of them. 

The very last cell to the right holds the eldest Beifong son, sitting in the corner with his jacket thrown off and his glasses askew. When his eyes meet yours his nostrils flare in anger. “Come to gloat?” You look over at the guard with a raised brow, silently asking for privacy. It takes him a minute to understand before he lets out a nervous chuckle and says “oh, sorry!” 

You wait until he’s out of earshot before replying, “No, in a way I came to apologize.” In all the time you’ve known the annoying man before you, you’ve never really heard him laugh, like a full belly laugh. Baatar throws his head back, the sound echoes and causes some of the people in cells nearby to complain. “I’m serious Baatar, I never wanted to lie nor did I want to keep it a secret for so long.” 

“Did you know she fucked me? Multiple times.” He looks so smug, you feel an anger bubble inside, he must notice because he continues, “did you know she moaned my name as I drove into her?” 

Without even thinking about it you bend a piece of your armor off and wrap it around his mouth, tightly. Your chest moves as you breathe deeply, trying to contain your rage. “I know everything, I also know she only did that to placate you, and that she took her ring off for me! That the nights she wasn’t trying to keep you distracted she was in my bed, screaming my name.” 

This was not supposed to turn out this way, but you can’t seem to stop as you continue, “I also know that she’d choose me over you any day, seeing as I’m her soulmate.” Baatar’s eyes widen, you sigh.

You rub the bridge of your nose. You didn’t come to act like this, “Look I am sorry about us going behind your back. It may not seem like it but Kuvira does care about you, just as a friend. I never took pleasure in the secrecy or the lies or the sneaking around but… She knew you wouldn’t have helped as just a friend.” 

Pulling the metal off his mouth and back onto your armor, you sigh. He looks so… Defeated. “I’ve loved her since I was thirteen years old.” 

“That doesn’t mean you get to have her,” you say softly. “One day you’ll find the one for you.” 

Baatar scoffs, “no I won’t. I don’t have a mark.” 

“That doesn’t mean you don’t have a soulmate, it just means they haven’t been born yet. I heard your aunt met hers recently and she’s like fifty! So…” You sigh, rubbing the bridge of your nose. “I’m sorry, that’s all I came to say.” 

When he doesn’t reply, you move away, you’ve only taken two steps when he says “Does she know you're lying to her?” Your heart begins to race as you feel like the floor beneath you is on the verge of crumbling into a black endless pit. Slowly you turn to look at him, “Lying about what?” 

“You and I both know you weren’t attacked, General Yin was loyal enough to offer to lay down his life the other day when Kuvira fought the avatar. Besides, those darts leave a bruise.” You tense, just enough for him to see and he chuckles. “I knew it.” 

“I would never betray her,” you spit out before walking off, some of the people in the other cells must have heard the beginning half of your argument because as you march out they all begin to chant “Uniter’s Whore!” You slam the door shut to the jailhouse, making the guard who was slumped over in his chair jump up with wide eyes. “Wh-What happened?” 

You ignore him. Your mind is set on Kuvira, you need to get her out of her room, maybe pry something from her to help you figure out the next step of your plan. The walk back to the Beifong estate isn’t long, a five-minute walk at most but it feels like forever as you continue to push past anyone in your way, everyone around you is a blur at the anger you feel. Fuck Baatar, and y’know what, fuck those other people too. 

When you reach Kuvira’s door, the plate of food is still there, untouched and cold. You pick it up and turn the knob but the door doesn’t move due to being locked. “Kuvira wants to be left alone,” one of the guards at her door says. You roll your eyes, bending the lock before finally opening the door. 

The room is pristine, a part of you expected it to be a mess like the other day after Bolin’s betrayal, you find the cleanliness unnerving. Kuvira’s is bigger than yours, from your knowledge it was once Suyin’s, and the main room consists of a large bed with a floor to ceiling window along with a large wardrobe. 

There’s a table with two chairs and a massive bathroom across from the bed. To the left of the front door is another set of doors, finding that no one is in the bedroom, you push open the door. Inside is an office, and Kuvira is sitting in the towering desk chair made of green velvet and metal. 

She’s so focused on the blueprints in front of her that she doesn’t notice you’ve entered, which is the first sign that something’s wrong. Kuvira is always aware of her surroundings. The second sign is that once you place the food down onto the desk, she still doesn’t look up. “Vira?” 

Her head shoots up, brows pinched in confusion as she takes you in. One of her hands is fisting a blueprint whilst the other remains flat on the table. “What?” You shove the platter of food towards her, she stares at it and then at you, brow quirked. “You need to eat. You haven’t eaten all day.” 

“What I need to do is figure out what to do with Baatar.” You grab the plate of grilled salmon with garlic roasted asparagus and some sort of weird green thing you aren’t too familiar with (apparently the chef here likes to experiment with food?) and place it in front of her, sticking the fork in the salmon for her. “What do you mean?” 

Kuvira glares at the plate of food before looking up and into your eyes, she looks a bit… Defeated. “I needed him for a few more projects. With Varrick gone he is a valuable asset to us. No amount of bribery or blackmailing will get him to work, he’s too stubborn to set aside his pain for this cause now that he knows about us.” 

“What else could he possibly need to build? We’ve united the earth empire, isn’t it time we bask in our victory and usher in a new age of peace for our country?” Kuvira slams her hands against the desk and stands, glaring at you “I have other plans, we have more we can do for everyone! And I needed his engineering to give it to them.” 

You know what she needs him for, you’ve seen it all in her tent with Zhu Li. You can’t let her march onto republic city. “Like what? You’ve kept so much from me regarding this whole operation despite me being your soulmate and dedicating my life and happiness to this cause! So what is so important that you need to keep Junior around for?” 

“Now isn’t the time for your jealousy,” she spits out and you scoff. “ _ My _ jealousy? I did a damn good job swallowing my feelings for the last three years, meanwhile if someone looks at me for too long you act like I want their attention! I’m just trying to be here for you, so get over yourself!” 

She looks a bit stunned at your rebuttable but you don’t give her the time to fight back. “For someone so worried about me leaving them last night, you sure aren’t trying your hardest to keep me around.” 

Her eyes widen, you feel bad, you do. But you’ve kept your cards close to your chest for far too long. Taking advantage of her stunned state, you grab the blueprint, ripping it out from under the plate. Food flies onto the desk, but you don’t care. It’s the giant mecha suit, but there’s been some alterations to the plans, improvements that weren’t there when Zhu Li copied it. 

“What the fuck is this for?” 

Kuvira rips it out of your hands, the middle tearing a bit, “you want to be in the know? Fine! This isn’t over until Republic City is ours! It used to be earth kingdom land and we deserve to have it back!” You pull at the roots of your hair, letting out a frustrated sound that’s a mixture between a groan and a growl as you spit out, “Careful Kuvira, you’re starting to sound like Azulon!” 

A look of hurt flashed before her eyes before she masked it. “Azulon wanted to conquer lands that weren’t his, this is our land!” 

“It hasn’t been our land for decades! That city is older than us!” Your face is red with anger and her eyes are wild as she stares at you in a complete rage. “You can stop this right now before it’s too late. If you invade Republic City I will never be able to look at you again.” 

“Don’t make me choose between you and my country.” She looks panicked, you sigh as you feel tears drip down your cheeks. “It shouldn’t be a tough decision,  _ Kuvira _ .” You rarely call her by her full name in private, but you can’t bring yourself to taint a name filled with such love.

You leave before she can lure you back in with her smoky voice and false promises. You slam open her bedroom doors, causing the guards standing by to jump back in fear. You don’t pay them mind as you head to your room, tomorrow you’ll work harder to dismantle this operation before it’s too late. Tonight you can spend your time crying over the impending doom of your relationship. 

Upon entering the room, your heart clenches. Everything is the same as this afternoon, her robe is on the floor, a crumpled heap with the sheets rumpled and two cloths strewn across the room. Images of the night before flash through your mind, what if that’s the last time you’ll ever get to hold her? Or the last time she says she loves you? 

A choked sound escapes your throat as you slide down the metal of the doors until your bottom hits the stone floor. You always promised to stay, you just promised last night. But can you stomach the sight of her if she did that? Could you push all of her wrongdoings aside, all of her crimes, in the name of love? 

Maybe years from now, but you don’t think you can spend such a long time away from her. You aggressively wipe at your eyes, why can’t it be easy? Everyone’s soulmate stories seemed to be full of love with minor to no complications. No one ever mentions this feeling of a million knives stabbing into your heart as you imagine the future you’ll most likely never be given. You’re going to end up alone, one of those freaks whose soulmate didn’t want or didn’t care for enough.

A few hours later you wake up on the cold stone floor with a mild headache, the tears that once rushed down your face have dried. You push yourself up with a groan, you can’t stay in this room for another second so you stand up with wobbly legs and open your door.

A guard that wasn’t there before is stationed outside, he avoids eye contact and watches you walk out of the house. You numbly walk towards the tram you rode last night, there’s a man at the door waiting for any passengers and when you step up he looks surprised. “Uhh, what do you need?” 

“I need a ride to the encampment,” you say monotonously. You don’t offer a smile nor a glare, just utterly emotionless as you walk onto the tram and sit down, not waiting for a reply. He rushes over to the operating booth, within a minute the doors are snapping shut as the tram jolts into action. This time you do look out the window, wanting to know what she’s done to your city. 

At this hour no one is out of their homes, all tucked away for the night. To a stranger, nothing would be amiss, but you notice the little differences, like the sign of your favorite bakery that has been ripped down and that a window to the right in the very back has been broken. 

All market booths are empty when they usually just have blankets thrown on them at the end of the day. These differences have sucked the life out of Zaofu, leaving in its wake a sad and quiet city trapped under a tyrannical rule. 

When the tram stops at the entrance, you climb off and look at the line of jeeps parked to the side to travel to and fro. The guards warily watch over you as you jump into one, not paying anyone any mind as you speed off down the road. This time you don’t slow down, if anything you go as fast you can, hoping to release some of your anger into the wind.

Pieces of your hair leave your updo, whipping around as you clutch at the steering wheel. Your mind wanders back to your argument, causing you to let out a frustrated yell as you slam a hand against the wheel, accidentally pressing against the horn. 

You don’t care though, you're alone and still have roughly two miles until you get to the encampment so no one hears you as you let out a scream, then another. The action brings you an ounce of relief which is better than none, you’ll take it. When you reach the camp you slow down so as to not accidentally run into any tents and drive the jeep to the center, turning off the car but leaving the keys in the ignition, you jump out of the car. 

You march towards Kuvira’s tent with clenched fists. Inside most of the papers and maps are gone, so you head to the filing cabinet where you know copies of things reside, when you try to pull it open you find it locked. With a frustrated huff, you bend the metal open, effectively opening up the drawer. 

Inside you riffle through, looking for a map of the encampment that has each tent labeled with what's inside. You find it tucked between the old blueprint of the train and a copy of the invasion plans for Zaofu. Slamming the broken drawer shut you spread the map across the empty table and sigh. 

Kuvira’s army mainly consists of willing participants, but there’s a large portion of people who were forced to join, benders who are valuable to the cause due to their different bending abilities. She had Baatar make a bracelet to put around each of their ankles to keep them from deserting, when you found out about it you didn’t talk to Kuvira for days. 

You wished you hadn’t, but eventually, your resolve slipped and you buried your hatred towards the invention and the poor souls trapped fighting a cause they don’t believe in. The fault with these bracelets was that they could only be metal bent to be taken off without it shocking them. But that worked in your favor. 

Your fingers traced the map, looking for the barracks meant to hold these prisoners. When your eyes land on Barrack 238 a sigh leaves you, you can’t seem to find the second one but you can ask the residents once you get inside. 

You fold the map up until it’s small enough to fit in your pocket and dash out of the tent, thankfully the guards that patrol this encampment seem to have already passed over this section so you can easily sneak behind all the buildings and crates as you make your way across the camp.

Barrack 238 is stationed by the mess hall, in between two barracks for loyal soldiers so that if they ever tried anything people would be nearby to subdue them. Outside the entrance are two guards with their helmets on, ready to fight if necessary. Slowly you bend off two pieces of your armor and shoot them towards their mouths, the force has their heads knocking against the metal behind them, effectively knocking them out. 

You dart across to the door, opening it up you bend off two more pieces that you attach to their ankles and pull them inside in case a patrol walks by. Everyone inside is sound asleep on cots lining both sides of the walls. Quietly you click the door shut, there isn’t a lock on it so you take one of the pieces of metal from an ankle and bend it around the handles, effectively barring entry to anyone who tries. 

You sneak around the room, bending off the bracelets as quietly as possible. It’s on the twelfth one that someone wakes up. The woman whose bracelet you are bending wakes up with a start, you fall back onto your butt and stare at her with wide eyes. She looks terrified, you probably would in her shoes. 

“No please, don’t scream. I’m here to help,” you whisper, crawling forward. She opens her mouth to shout, so you gently grab her cheeks and turn her head to stare at all the broken bracelets at the ends of the beds, along with the two knocked out guards. She rips out of your grasp, her eyes focusing on the guards. “I-I want to help you all, if I can finish getting you guys out of these I can give you all two options.” 

“What options?” Her voice is one of sandpaper and smoke. “You guys can run off into the night to escape together or I can hide these bracelets and you can wait to help revolt.” The bracelets are hidden under their pants so no strangers will know that they are fighting against their will. 

“What revolt?” 

“Whenever you guys see the avatar, that’s when you fight back.” She tenses as she stares you down, “aren’t you Kuvira’s lover? Someone said that you are.” You look down at your lap, nodding. “Then why are you trying to help us?” 

“Because I shouldn’t have turned a blind eye in the first place, I know my help won’t erase what happened but I want to do what I can to end this.” 

She eyes your cheek, before hesitantly replying “what can I do to help?” 

You have her wake up those you’ve already freed to discuss what to do next, and with each new one, you feel a weight settle on your shoulders. Their lives are now in your hands, if someone finds out what happened you will need to do everything in your power to protect them. Soon enough everyone is awake and huddled together, whispering. You stay out of the way, knowing this isn’t your conversation. This is about their freedom, something you helped take away. 

“We’ll fight,” the woman says, emerging from the crowd, your eyes widen. “Are you sure? I can help you steal jeeps if you want to leave.” 

“We need to make sure they are taken down.” Your gaze flit’s between them, there’s forty of them so you can’t meet the eyes of each one but suddenly you feel like you aren’t as hopeless as before. “If you all are sure, then okay… Do you know where the other barrack is stationed with others… Like you?” You cringe but no one seems to care. “I think on the other side of the camp, they try to keep us apart.” 

You nod, if you at least have a general area you can easily scope it out, it’s the only barrack made out of metal with guards watching over them. You bend open a large hole in the earth, each person grabs the bracelet that kept them chained to a life of fighting and slowly walk to the hole. One by one they drop them inside, each clink of metal is a reminder of what they’ve gone through, what you let them go through. Once the last bracelet is inside you bend the earth until you can’t even tell it’s been touched. 

“What are you gonna do about the guards?” You sigh at that, the sea of people split to show the two men still out cold. “I think I’ll know what to do, you guys go back to sleep and make sure no one sees your ankles.” They all climb back into their respective cots, tucking their blankets under their feet. You bend the metal off the handle and back onto the guy's ankle before opening the door and dragging them out, With a flick of your wrist the door shuts once more. 

Even with bending the guys are heavy enough for there to be a slight resistance that wears on your muscles as you drag them along the dirt. It takes the double it usually would walk up to the guardhouse which holds a makeshift jail. You feel sweat drip down your brow as you grunt, the noise alerts one of the guards standing post outside the guardhouse, his eyes widen as he looks at the men being dragged behind you as you slowly walk over. 

He rushes over, going to take one of the guard's ankles, you let go of the metal you were bending to pull him and sigh. You drop the second man's ankle as well and push loose strands of hair out of your face as they begin to stick to your wet skin. “I-” you pant, “caught these men trying to desert.” 

The guard's eyes widen, “are you sure?” 

“Yes, I found them trying to run off whilst I was driving into camp. They tried to put up a fight too,” 

“I-I am so sorry, we can throw them inside a cell and have them on the next train to the reeducation camps,” he grabs the other man's ankle and starts to drag them into the building. “Please ma’am, go get some rest. We’ll make sure these men are secure under our command.” 

You try not to snort at the usage of ma’am and nod before walking off. You can’t take out the next set of guards the same way you did for the last, it’ll become suspicious that so many men are trying to desert in one evening. The walk to the other side is long, you know it’s late as your feet drag across the ground, but time is of the essence and you can’t forget  _ anyone.  _ The barrack is tucked away behind the weapons tent and jeep depo, once more two guards are standing by. 

You sneak past a tent beside the barrack and run along until you get to the back. You’ll have to be extra quiet for this. Since none of the soldiers inside are earth benders, these barracks are made of bendable metal, most likely in case something goes wrong but also because using platinum would be such a waste on ones who can’t even bend metal in the first place. 

You slowly begin to bend the back open, a small enough hole for you to crawl through, if you go any faster it’ll cause more noise and alert anyone nearby, but this time your intrusion wakes up the person sleeping closest to the wall. They open their mouth to scream so you jump forward and place your hand over their mouth. “I’m here to help,” you whisper. “If you scream, guards will flood this barrack and find a way to blame one of you guys, so be quiet.” 

The loyal ones hated the ones being forced into service, they felt that everyone should be grateful and honored to fight alongside Kuvira. “I want to bend all of your bracelets off and offer you all two options, if I bend off your bracelet can you help keep everyone quiet?” 

He slowly nods, you hesitantly move your hand away, keeping it close for a couple of seconds to see if he’ll try anything. When he doesn’t you bend the bracelet off and guide him over to the person next to him, this process is slower due to needing to be as quiet as possible, it takes roughly an hour to get everyone's bracelets off. Once every one is free you drag them as far from the doors as you can and whisper, “I offered this to the other group. I can either help you escape tonight or you can stay and revolt once you see the avatar.”

“Which one did they take?” a man, no a boy who looks no older than eighteen asks with his arms crossed. 

“To stay and fight.” 

“Then we’ll stay,” says a woman. You offer them a small grateful smile and tell them what you told the last group before opening up a hole. This time you tell them to gently set their bracelet inside instead of tossing them, once done you bend it like before and look up at the group. “Keep your ankles covered, and remember not to fight until you see the avatar.” 

Everyone quietly gets back into bed as you step through your hole and bend it back together. It’s not perfect, there are some ripples and obvious signs of damage but it's the best you can manage. It would need to be welded to be smooth again or bent by someone stronger than you. 

Finally, you can crawl into bed in the old tent that you once shared with Kuvira. Until she comes to you, you won’t set foot in Zaofu. The ball is in her court and you won’t give in. The exhaustion of the day wraps around you as you tuck yourself in. It doesn’t take long to fall into a dreamless sleep. 

* * *

That next morning you reluctantly pull yourself out of bed and sigh, you didn’t get any sleep last night due to the lack of  _ her _ . But there’s more to be done. You bend your armor back on and tie your hair into a simple ponytail instead of the usual tight bun and force yourself to walk out into the morning light. The camp is bustling with men and women rushing around to complete their morning tasks. Some look at you strangely as you pass, most likely surprised to see you back here instead of the city but you brush it off. 

Instead of heading to the mess hall like most people around this time of day you head to the weapons tent. This tent is thankfully left unguarded because only a quarter of _ her _ soldiers need them. It’s easy to slip inside and due to Zhu Li, you know where to find a tranquilizer and some darts which you slip into your coat pocket along with a knife. These are the only two things that can remain untouched in this room. 

You go to the first crate full to the brim of weapons and bend the metal on them, curving them until they are irreparable, and move onto the next. It takes more time than you’d like due to using up so much energy last night and not having any food in your stomach but you persist. If someone enters well then you’ll just… Take them out. Maybe you can take them to the other guardhouse to not raise any brows, although they do keep in contact via radio but… Well, you’ll figure it out may the need arise. 

At the last crate, you feel yourself become exhausted from all the energy you’re putting into your bending. You grip the sides of the wood and lean forward, the sweat on your back is making your jacket stick to you. You can take it off after this, you tell yourself. With a grunt, you slowly begin to bend the metal of the weapons, twisting them until you hear the snap of the mechanisms inside breaking. 

Hesitantly you move the flap of the tent just slightly to look outside to make sure the coast is clear. When you exit the tent you head to your own so you can adjust the weapons hidden inside. The sun beats down on you as you weave past others, sweat dripping down your neck. When your tent finally comes into sight you're overjoyed with relief and dart inside. Now that you’re finally alone you carefully take out the gun along with the knife and darts. You place them on your bed and examine them with a hand holding your chin in contemplation. 

Your eyes dart from the knife to the loose sheet you slept with before grabbing it to tear off a long strip. You wrap the blade in it and tuck the loose end into the wrapping to keep it tight. Running a finger down where the edge of the blade is, you press down and don’t feel any pain. Good. You tuck that into your pants and underneath your tank top.

The gun is a different story, you try tucking it into the band of your pants like you did the knife but it’s too noticeable there and too large for your pant pockets, despite them being relatively deep. You bite your lip as you look down at your body, trying to figure what to do when your eyes land on your boots. 

Emptying the barrel of the gun you push the gun into the side of your boot, which is rather uncomfortable might you add, and adjust the hem of your pant leg to help keep it hidden. The darts you stuff in a pocket, it’s a little obvious something is inside but you don’t think anyone will ask. Only Kuvira would and she’s not here.

You think of the mecha suits Zhu Li sabotaged, with all the weapons destroyed their default would be to put the men into suits but now they won’t have enough. You’re suddenly so happy she did that, because now those men are rendered useless. 

Walking out of your tent you head to the mess hall for food, some eye you, looking disapprovingly at your lack of the required bun and jacket but you dare them to try and rat you out. It’s not like you and Kuvira are currently on speaking terms anyway. Instead of grabbing a plate of food you simply grab an apple along with a piece of bacon before heading out. You don’t want to waste time sitting around picking at a plate of half-decent food. 

As you’re walking around trying to find more things to do you pass by the communications tent and pick up a conversation, that familiar raspy voice is a bit static-y but you still recognize her. “Find y/n and send her to my tent.” 

“Of course, great uniter. I’ll tell all my men to search for her.” Oh, she’s decided to grace the camp with her presence and leave her conquered fortress behind? You scoff and walk away, heading to the tent yourself. You don’t want to deal with another man that tries to shove you in one direction like General Yin. 

The tent stands in front of you with a looming sense of dread billowing out of the tent like smoke. Whatever happens inside will decide your future, and that thought scares you. 

With a faltering step, you head to the entrance, slowly moving open the flap. Kuvira is leaning against the front of her desk, looking up at the fabric above. Upon hearing you enter her head snaps down to stare into your eyes. 

With the flap falling shut behind you, you stand in front of the entrance, worried about getting any closer. In the past Kuvira’s mere presence was enough to sway you into singing her name and whilst you felt you were stronger than you used to be, there was still that slight chance of caving at the caress of her hand. 

“I spoke to your parents.” That is not what you were expecting to come out of her mouth. Your brows pinch together in confusion so she continues “I didn’t realize I knew your mom, she helped train me when I first joined the guard.” 

You turn your head, not being able to meet her gaze. “So?”

“She’s a blunt woman, and when I told her about us neither of your parents were pleased.” You wrap your arms around your stomach, are they upset with you? Of whom you’ve become? “But they gave me a piece of useful advice, something I probably could have had use of hearing all those years ago.” 

She slowly walks over to you, hesitantly so. When she’s only a few feet away from you, you finally notice the bags under her hair and the frizziness of her hair. It doesn’t seem like much but Kuvira strives for perfection within herself, a hair out of place meant a flaw in her eyes. 

“That if I love you, it shouldn’t just be me taking from you, but by asking you to hide everything and go along with my plans that was exactly what I did. I realize now I never even asked what you want, what you envision when you see our future.” 

Tears escape your eyes at her words. All these years you’ve eagerly given yourself to her, reminding yourself that one day all your quiet suffering will have been worth it. To hear her admit what she’s done, even if it’s not in-depth, makes you realize how little you’ve received in return. 

“It should be equal. Give and take and be there for each other. There shouldn’t be punishments or silent treatment,” Kuvira pushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “What  _ do _ you want?” 

Your bottom lip trembles as you squeeze your eyes shut. Flashes of you pursuing dancing, of owning an apartment together and painting the living room in Kuvira’s favorite shade of green. Making dinners together and lazy days spent in bed whispering to one another, afraid to break the gentle peace that’s filled the atmosphere. Of a date in the botanical gardens, a picnic like you’d always wanted since that day you realized who she was. A flower every Friday and a gentle, loving kiss in greeting when returning home from practice. 

You don’t know how to express that dream you’ve held onto these last few years, it’s precious and sacred, something that helped keep you going in the darkest of moments. 

“I want peace,” you say, your voice a mere whisper. But she hears you loud and clear. “I want this all to end and I want us to finally be able to love one another in front of others. I don’t want any of this, I can’t peacefully live in a world where this… this mission is a success.” 

Kuvira takes a step forward, her mouth opening to reply when it happens. A shout, and then gunfire.


	6. part six

When you leave her office, Kuvira is filled with rage so hot she fears it may burn her insides. She hears the slam of her doors and the muffled conversation between guards before it’s softly shut once more. _“It shouldn’t be a tough decision, Kuvira.”_

The malice in your voice, the use of her full name, it shattered through the toughest of walls within her. Ones you’d never breached before. She’s never been good with her emotions, ever since she was a child she warped her sadness, her loneliness, and sometimes even happiness into anger as a way to protect herself. 

She was a difficult child with a temper the size of Ba Sing Se, so difficult in fact that her parents deemed her unfit for their life. It felt like the world was ending when she first arrived in Zaofu, the way her parents spoke to her before they left, making her seem like no one would ever truly love her unless she let Suyin mold her into a model citizen. 

And that was another problem, Suyin always tried to turn Kuvira into a miniature version of herself. It didn’t matter how different she was, Suyin tried to bury who Kuvira truly was with a perfected version of herself, a false one.

Up until her parent's abandonment, she always assumed love would be easy and that she would instantly marry her soulmate. She’d pull her shirt up just a bit and look at the words swirled across her hip bone in wonder. _“Would you mind helping me memorize the routine?”_

Those words, however minuscule and mundane, proved to her that she was worthy of love. That one day she would be loved. But as she grew older in Zaofu she felt a disconnect regarding those words on her hip, the first time she had sex she had covered it up, as if trying to shield the person she hadn’t even met yet. Hara, the name of the girl who had eyed her since the first day of guard training, didn’t seem to care at all. 

Kuvira feels like she should lie and say she had her eyes on you since the first practice you attended but honestly she hadn’t even noticed the new addition to the troupe. When you had pranced over to her, still light on your feet after the routine, and spoke, she wondered what kind of soft-spoken woman would end up loving someone whose own parents hated her? 

She remembers that night in the metal flower in vivid detail. When you were spinning alongside her in the air she suddenly was consumed with the desire to kiss you, she didn’t even realize she had pulled you close until your soft lips touched hers. 

She knew from the moment you spoke that first day she should have broken up with Baatar Jr. But Kuvira, even though she will never admit it out loud, is a stubborn and flawed woman who can’t stop once she sets her mind to something. 

The fourth night of the second month on the train after she had been uncharacteristically gentle with you, was the first time you said you loved her. She asked you to repeat yourself again and again until you pulled her into a deep kiss, pouring all your love into it. The action left her breathless, and with that kiss, you broke her first wall.

She doesn’t even realize she’s crying until she starts to think about you and all her memories of you. You’re most likely in your room erasing any trace of her there may be, completely ready to extract her from your life. 

Kuvira forces herself out of her office and over to her front door, she opens it up just a few inches, enough for the guard nearby to see. She doesn’t care if he can see the tears racing down her cheeks. “Have a guard stationed outside of Y/n’s door.”

Once she shuts the door after he nods, Kuvira walks into her room where she sits on the edge of her bed. If she goes to sleep, will you still be in her life tomorrow? Kuvira shoves off her boots but otherwise stays in her uniform as she lays down and stares blankly out the window, her country needs her. They need her to protect them in a way no one has ever protected her before. 

Kuvira doesn’t sleep that night, she stays awake, her gaze focused on a potted plant out in the courtyard, and imagines every possible scenario in her head. These last few years have spoiled her in a way, you were always by her side through it all. You were there cheering her on and making her feel loved and wanted. She doesn’t know if she can go back to how it used to be, to loneliness. 

When rays of sunshine start to peak through her window, she pulls herself up and out of bed. Kuvira goes to the bathroom to smooth out any wrinkles in her clothes but doesn’t feel the energy or motivation to change into a fresh pair. She slept in her bun, it’s a bit frizzy now with a few loose strands that she tries to tuck into her braid, there’s a pesky curl that won’t cooperate. Kuvira eventually gives up on it, letting it stay out and frame the side of her face. 

You love when she has her hair down, when it’s down you immediately run your fingers through the dark curls and let out this content sigh that fills her heart with adoration. Kuvira shoves her feet into her boots on the way out of her room, beyond caring about her appearance. The guard outside her door, the same from last night steps forward when she walks out of her room. 

“Ms. Y/n left her room around one A.M, it’s been reported that she’s staying at the encampment.” Kuvira frowns, did she take too long? Have you given up? 

You were her guiding hand, her moral compass and now you’re gone. “Thank you,” she says monotonously before heading towards the kitchen. Despite her desire to shut herself off from the world, her stomach is cramping in pain due to hunger. She should have eaten the food you gave her last night, now it’s strewn across the desk in her office, cold and gone bad. 

She takes herself the familiar route to the kitchens, growing up here has its perks. She'd seen how you look around in a mixture of confusion and wonder when they had gone to try and negotiate with Suyin. Kuvira knows this place, she ran down these very halls when she was younger. Despite the hollowness that echoes through the halls, the lack of laughter and conversation turns the whole home into a colorless husk of what it used to be.

Kuvira hadn't noticed the lack of life within as she walked into the empty kitchen. Her guards had gotten Suyin's chef to cook breakfast and dinner, and she had given him lunch off. It was for sentimental reasons, all the birthday cakes he baked her and midnight snacks. He might hate her now but she'll keep giving him lunch off in hopes of paying him back for the happy memories. She doesn't like to owe people. 

He must not be in yet, it's barely dawn. The kitchen is empty, giving Kuvira the perfect moment of respite before her dreadful day. She grabs a piece of bread, most likely baked yesterday, and an apple. Part of her doesn't have an appetite, to upset about her fight with you to want to eat. She forces it down with a glass of water, the food helps her slightly, helps her feel stronger than before. 

Kuvira walks down the hall, her feet carried her out of the estate and towards the tram. “I need to get out of the city,” she says to the operator waiting for any passengers by the tram doors. He nods and briskly walks over to the operating booth, she decides to grab onto the pole at the center of the cart and stand. The machinery starts with a jolt but Kuvira remains unmoving, staring straight ahead. Slowly the scenery around her begins to change, it takes her around the outer domes where a few people are toddling about, most likely walking off to work. 

The tram goes under a tunnel before entering the main dome. That towering golden statue of Toph Beifong comes into view and Kuvira sighs as a memory of you enters her mind. 

_You’re moving around your room on the train as the view from outside is blurred due to the speed you were moving at. You and Kuvira were beginning to get to know each other in the safety of the night, which brought you such joy. Standing in front of your vanity with only Kuvira’s undershirt on you begin to take the pins out of your hair. “What was your home like?” She had asked. A wide smile made its way onto your face as you set the bobby pins into a small ring dish._

_“Just so cozy. We have a townhouse in the main dome across from the botanical gardens. I had the best view from my bedroom window,” you let out a wistful sigh as you begin to untie your locks. “Our home was directly situated to the center of it, all you had to do was walk across the street to enter. So I got to wake up with a view of every flower Zaofu has curated, it felt like it was just for me.”_

_Kuvira watches you fondly from the bed as you continue “my dad and I made a metal planter to hang from our kitchen window by the front door, during summertime hydrangeas bloom from it.”_

Without thinking Kuvira rushes over to the emergency brake button and slaps her hand onto it, the tram stops with a harsh jolt that sends her stumbling to the side. The doors automatically open with the lights above flashing red. Kuvira stands on the edge, looking below. The fall isn’t far but it could still hurt her, so she bends two of the metal seats, ripping them out of their places screwed to the floor and warping it into a crud shape of a ladder. 

She bends it to the edge, moving the nails that popped out to screw them into the floor to secure the ladder. Kuvira lets out a deep sigh before beginning her descent below. This is stupid and will most likely blow up in her face, but if you decide to say goodbye to her today, she wants to see the place that you once called home. There are a few inches between the ladder and the ground so Kuvira jumps, She bends at the ladder back into the tram so if it starts whilst she’s away it won’t break any buildings in the process. 

An old man opening up shop stares at Kuvira with wide eyes, watching her walk away as the tram above stays frozen. She’s a block away from the garden she’s heard you gush about, more and more people begin to filter out from their homes to start their day and each one eyes her with disgust. Squaring her shoulders, she stares ahead and away from everyone's watchful gaze. 

The gardens come into view, towering bright green trees with vines growing on the wrought iron fence surrounding it. Kuvira stops at the entrance, looking inside with hesitancy, as if worried she’ll destroy it upon contact. There’s a pond in the center with a few lily pads floating around with two benches across from one another by the pond. 

Flowers of all shapes and colors are scattered around and when her gaze locks on the towering Sunflowers in bloom, Kuvira suddenly remembers once finding you tucked behind them with bloodshot eyes and a raspy voice from crying. That was the second time she had knowingly hurt you, the first being asking you to keep it a secret. Kuvira takes a step back, not feeling worthy of stepping inside such a radiant place, and begins her trek around it to your house. 

Most of the homes don’t have many outdoor decorations, a welcome mat or a potted plant seems to be the theme so when her eyes lock onto that metal planter with blue hydrangeas Kuvira knows she’s found the place. It’s a two-story townhome with some sort of stick figure drawn on the second story window and when she looks over her shoulder she sees how perfectly centered the house is to see all of the gardens from above. 

She doesn’t know what to do now. She never really thought through her plan, which is incredibly unlike her, but that memory came flooding back through her mind and she knew she needed to see it for herself. Slowly she takes a step forward, and then another and another until she’s in front of the door with her fist raised, rapping three times against the metal. 

Kuvira doesn’t know why she does it, maybe it's the sleep deprivation or an act of desperation to feel your presence again, she honestly doesn’t know. There’s the sound of thunderous footsteps from behind the door and a masculine voice calling out “I’ll get it!” 

A man opens the door with the same color hair as you, he’s a bit on the chubbier side and looks to be roughly 6’2 or maybe even 6’3. 

Kuvira can see the resemblance in certain features of his and it makes her long for you even more. Your father scowls at the sight of her, his demeanor has changed from cheery to vexed in a matter of seconds. She shouldn’t be surprised. 

“I’m Kuvi-” 

“I know who you are, you made us kneel before you.” His voice is gruff and his words clipped. Kuvira sighs, right, she did do that. “What do _you_ want?”

‘I’ve come to talk to you and your wife about… well about your daughter.” Spirits this is awkward, your father stares Kuvira down for a few moments before frowning. Slowly he steps aside, letting her in. Your home is warm with family photos framed and hanging from the wall, the entry is a narrow hallway with an archway that leads into a small kitchen. As Kuvira follows your dad down the hall her eyes catch on a photo of you. 

You can’t be any older than eight in it with your arms wrapped around your father's neck as he carries you on his back. Your mother is beside the two of you, pushing a loose strand of hair behind your ear. All three of you are grinning and Kuvira notices that one of your front teeth is missing. Both of you have lived such different lives. At eight Kuvira was being abandoned by her parents for being too out of control. 

Two people who grew up in completely different environments with such clashing personalities are soulmates, in some ways, it seems like a sick joke. But she can’t be upset about it when she loves you this much, just confused. 

Your father clears his throat, ripping Kuvira from her thoughts. She looks over and tenses, he’s looking at her like he wants to say something but shakes his head and enters the room at the end of the hall. Kuvira reluctantly leaves the photo behind and follows after him. 

The room is a living and dining room with a small circular table that has an elegant bouquet of yellow and white flowers in a simple vase with four chairs tucked underneath it. There is a cozy looking periwinkle sofa and an unlit fireplace with a photo hanging above it, this one is larger and is of you before the performance all those years ago. You look so pretty in that costume and so happy. Kuvira swallows. 

Your dad walks up the staircase tucked to the right, leaving her in the living room where she awkwardly stands. She doesn’t think he wants her to go up. Kuvira makes out the sound of aggressive whispering from upstairs, she can’t make out any of the words but soon after two people come walking downstairs. Your father and your mother. 

Kuvira’s eyes widened, you always mentioned your mother being part of the guard but you never mentioned her being the Lieutenant for the main dome. Not only did she help train Kuvira, but she also placed the captain's pin onto her uniform during her ceremony. She had smiled at Kuvira, having seen her as her own, and said quietly _“I’m so proud of you.”_

That smile is long gone and replaced with a scowl. “What could you possibly want to say about our daughter?” Your father places a gentle hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down a bit. 

Kuvira gulps as she eyes the both of them, there're so many emotions raging within her now that she doesn’t know if she can even speak. Suddenly this place somehow seems too much like you and she wants to run away from your mother's wrathful gaze. “I’m… Your daughter,” Kuvira internally groans. This shouldn’t be so hard. “ Y/n and I are soulmates.” 

“So the rumors are true…” Your father mutters as he plops down onto the couch with a dumbfounded expression. 

“What rumors?” She had locked herself up in her room all of yesterday and this is her first time having a conversation with someone that’s not you. Your father grimaces. 

“That guards found you in her room, naked,” your mother spits the words out. Oh spirits, this is not a good first impression. Kuvira feels her face flush a deep red “that you imprisoned your fiancé because he caught the two of you.” 

“It’s a lot more than that” she offers, neither seems to care. Your father seems to not want to hear any of this because he quickly stands and walks off towards the kitchen. The sounds of pots and pans being moved can be heard through the otherwise eerily silent home. “I didn’t want to imprison him.” 

“I don’t care, what I want to know is why you were even with him if my daughter is your soulmate. She abruptly left with you three years ago.” 

The explanation floating around her mind isn’t good enough, she can’t seem to figure out how to eloquently explain herself without it seeming like she doesn’t care about you. Suddenly as she thinks over the last three years and she starts to notice how harshly she’s treated you. 

Up until now she always claimed it was for the good of the country, when you both finally got married the world would try to eat you up and chew you out for being with her. She needed you to have a perfect image and be resilient. 

“I-I needed him for engineering and he wouldn’t leave with us unless he thought I loved him,” Kuvira says sheepishly. Your mother looks unimpressed as her jaw begins to clench. “I have always loved your daughter though.” 

“So you hid my daughter, my beautiful, amazing, and sweet daughter away like something to be ashamed of?” She takes a step closer, scowling. Kuvira feels like the collar of her jacket is choking her. 

“No! I have never been ashamed of her, I always told her how much I loved her.” 

“But you turned her into the other woman for your own selfish desires!” 

“They weren’t selfish, they were for the good of the empire! She understood.” Kuvira thinks you understood but right now she’s not too sure. A kettle in the background begins to whistle. 

“My daughter dreamed of the day she’d meet her soulmate, she had everything planned out and I know for a fact that the woman I raised would not be okay with what you’ve turned her into!” Your father quietly reenters the room with a tray that holds three teacups with steam coming from them. 

“I love her, I just want to fix everything! It's why I came here,” that’s the real reason that compelled Kuvira to come here, if anyone knew you better than her, it’d be your parents. 

“How is she doing?” Your father asks, Kuvira looks over at him and notices how sad he looks. His eyes are bloodshot and a few tears fall from his eyes before he wipes them away. 

“She’s healthy but upset with me.” 

“As she should be,” your mother mutters under her breath. He picks up a teacup and blows on it, “why is she upset?” His voice cracks. 

“She wants me to end this, told me it's her or the empire and I don’t know what to do.” Kuvira sighs and runs a hand through her hair, messing her bun up a bit. 

“And why haven’t you chosen her already?” Your father's voice is calm, there’s a sadness to it but he doesn’t shout or rage like your mother who has her back turned to Kuvira as she goes to pick up one of the teacups. She can see how tense your mother is, how angry she still is. 

“Because it's my country, if I give it up to Wu and Suyin then I am turning my back on the people I promised to protect.” 

“You once promised to protect Zaofu at all costs” your mother snips out, he places a hand on her shoulder and softly says “honey, _please._ ” She relaxes just a fraction as she takes the seat beside him at the table, glaring at her tea. 

“These people are vulnerable and need someone to make sure they feel safe again. I’m that person, and your daughter understood that, or I thought she did.” 

Your father sets his cup down and pats the chair beside him that’s situated across from your mother. She shyly walks over to it, she doesn’t want to sit down but she’s already pissed your mom off just by existing and she’d rather not give her another reason to hate her. 

“They were vulnerable, but you have gotten rid of the bandits and raiders. You’ve stabilized the empire as you promised, now it’s time to let go and hand over the reins to someone else.” 

“I can’t do that,” Kuvira says, her heart is racing. Let someone else rule? Give up the control she craves? The idea makes her feel unsafe, like the second she does it someone will destroy not only her but also you.

“You have to, my daughter won’t stay with you otherwise. Are you really ready to give up love for power?” He hands her the last cup of tea, the scent of jasmine wafts up and fills her senses. She slowly goes to pick up the cup, her hands shaking. 

She’s so overwhelmed, none of this is meant to be happening. She’s supposed to win and you're meant to love and support her, then she proposes with a beautiful emerald ring that she’d make herself and you’d say yes. That’s how it’s meant to go, that’s how she has envisioned it since day one. 

“This isn’t how it’s meant to go” she confesses, your father sets a soft hand on her own to help stop the shaking. 

“How do you think it’s meant to go?” And so she tells him what she just thought, and she adds on how both of you would continue to better this country together and maybe, one day in the far future, have a child. 

“Did you ever ask Y/n if that’s what she wants?” Your mother tries to keep her voice calm, tries to keep from yelling at her again. Kuvira stares down at the cup, trying to wrack her brain around the time you’d chime in with the future you wanted, or a time she even asked. “Just because it’s the future you planned for her doesn’t mean it's the one she wants. You can’t just plan everything out without including your partner's opinions and desires into the equation.” 

You once talked about what your wedding would be like with Kuvira chiming in every once in a while, but that was it. That was the only time you mentioned anything regarding the future. 

“Love is about equality, you both should be putting in equal effort. It’s a delicate balance that takes time to learn, give, and take. It’s not always going to be perfect even with your soulmate but you make it work for each other. If my daughter stayed with you all these years then she must love you, but for her to put her foot down shows she has had enough.” Your father's voice is soothing and calms her down just a bit. 

“But…” Kuvira’s voice shakes, “what do I do if I give up control? It’ll never go back to how it was before, how am I meant to go back to everyday life after everything I’ve done? After knowing I probably could have done more.” 

“No one knows what life will be like after. But I think a few years down the road you could get back to the place you were at before, maybe a new and improved version due to all the knowledge you’ve acquired over the years and due to having Y/n with you,” he takes a sip of his tea after speaking and delicately sets it down on its saucer. 

“I know you need control in your life Kuvira, it’s what made you good at being Captain, but you need to let go. Everyone has to let go at some point and this is your time,” your mother says. Kuvira’s eyes glance around the room as she feels her heart begin to pound, it feels like any second it’ll leap out of her chest. Let go? The idea sends her mind spiraling with horrifying scenarios of what might happen. 

“We may not like you, but if you drop this once and for all, and make our daughter happy then,” your mother lets out a deep sigh “we will be here to support and help you.” Tears glisten in her eyes as she stares at the both of them. “If our daughter loves you then that must mean there’s still some good left in you.” 

Kuvira begins to softly cry, a hand comes up to cover her mouth as her shoulders hunch in on themselves. Your dad lets out a soft sigh and says “c’mere,” before pulling her into his arms and hugging her. Kuvira doesn’t hug him back nor pull away, she just sits there and cries into his shoulder. She knows what she must do and it terrifies her, fills her with doubt, and causes her stomach to clench from anxiety. 

“You need to bring her back to us, please,” he whispers, and Kuvira nods. Slowly he pulls away from her and offers her a gentle, comforting squeeze on the shoulder. She desperately wipes at her eyes, suddenly embarrassed to have cried in front of them, and lets out a shuddering breath. 

“You should go find her,” your mother says. Kuvira stands on wobbly legs, her hand placed firmly on the table for support. When she’s fully upright your father pulls her back into a hug, a short one this time. Kuvira awkwardly pats his back until he lets go. 

Your mother stays seated, staring her down. “Don’t break her heart,” she says. Kuvira vehemently nods, her eyes wide. She will do whatever it takes to protect your beautiful heart and if you forgive her she will cherish it every second of every day. 

She leaves shortly after that, your dad gives her a cookie before letting her leave which turns out to be really good and she walks over to the tram station. It’s since been fixed so when she presses the button requesting its presence it zooms by and opens its doors for her. The chairs are still messed up, just laying there a mess of something hardly resembling what they used to be. The tram takes her out of the city and to the entrance where she wastes no time hopping into a jeep and speeding off. 

The midmorning sun beats down, today is incredibly hot and causes little beads of sweat to form on her forehead. When she gets to the encampment Kuvira slows just barely and everyone moves out of the way at the sound of the car barreling through. She abruptly stops it and jumps down before heading into her tent. 

Inside Kuvira marches to her radio, she disregards the state of it and doesn’t even notice the filing cabinet you broke as she tunes into the main radio station the encampment uses. “Radio Freedom, what do you need?” 

“Find y/n and send her to my tent.”

“Of course, great uniter. I’ll tell all my men to search for her.” The voice stutters out a reply before she switches it off. Spirits she feels like she might go crazy whilst she waits for you. She leans against the front of her desk with her arms crossed as she tries to come up with some grand speech of how much she loves you, of how your love and presence is what has kept her sane over these last few years. 

She looks up at the ceiling and sighs, the idea is terrifying but she chooses you, she’ll let go of her defenses and send her men home for you. 

The sound of fabric rustling has Kuvira snapping her head back down to stare into your eyes. You look pissed, you don’t have on your jacket so the white undershirt sticks to your sweaty skin and you have your hair in a messy ponytail instead of the usual bun. 

Kuvira wets her lips before speaking, “I spoke to your parents.” Your eyes widen at that, Kuvira continues “I didn’t realize I knew your mom, she helped train me when I first joined the guard.” _And she hates my guts which I don’t blame her,_ Kuvira thinks. _I let her down, just like I let you down._

You finally look into her eyes and spirits, even with that furious look on your face you take her breath away. “So?”

“She’s a blunt woman, and when I told her about us neither of your parents were pleased.” You wrap your arms around yourself and frown, she wishes she could know what’s going on inside your head. “But they gave me a piece of useful advice, something I probably could have had use of hearing all those years ago.” 

She slowly walks over to you, hesitantly so. When she’s close enough you look her over and purse your lips. There’s a slight look of concern written on your features and it swells her heart with a hint of hope. 

“That if I love you, it shouldn’t just be me taking from you, but by asking you to hide everything and go along with my plans that was exactly what I did. I realize now I never even asked what you want, what you envision when you see our future.” 

You begin to silently cry and she has to use all of her willpower to keep from reaching forward to wipe away your tears. 

“It should be equal. Give and take and be there for each other. There shouldn’t be punishments or silent treatment,” Kuvira pushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “What do you want?” 

You squeeze your eyes shut at her words, your bottom lip trembling. You get lost in your thoughts, something you do often but Kuvira decides not to pull you out. She’ll give you all the time you need to reply. 

“I want peace,” you say, your voice a mere whisper. But she hears you loud and clear. “I want this all to end and I want us to finally be able to love one another in front of others. I don’t want any of this, I can’t peacefully live in a world where this… this _mission_ is a success.” 

Kuvira takes a step forward and opens her mouth to pour out all of her feelings, to promise that she’ll end it when something interrupts your moment. A shout and gunfire pierce through the air. Kuvira’s heart drops and she rushes forward to look outside of the tent. 

Her men are scrambling around like ants, stumbling to get to their places. She makes out a clash of fire and earth up ahead and runs out, leaving you behind. She turns a corner and comes face first with one of her men, instead of informing her of what’s going on he shoots a ball of fire at her. Kuvira’s eyes widen as she bends up a wall to protect her. 

“C’mon oh great uniter! Fight me” he shouts. Kuvira’s nostrils flare as she pushes the wall forward towards the man, it hits him and sends him stumbling back. As she advances with hands clenched, ready to activate his bracelet he shoots a spiraling wave of fire out of his foot that has Kuvira jumping out of the way. “It’s even ground now,” he says in a smug tone as he raises her pant leg to show a naked ankle. _What?_

Her heart races as she stands back up, cracking her neck to the side. She fought the avatar, she can fight this puny fire bender. Kuvira gets into stance, smirking as she shoots out two pieces of metal, one wraps around his ankle and the other around his neck, and with a twist of her wrist, he’s flying backward, slamming into the metal wall of one of the guardhouses. 

“Kuvira!” She hears you spit out, her head turns as she watches you desperately run over with an enraged look on your face. You bend the metal off the poor man, he falls to the floor with a groan. “Leave him alone.” 

“He is defying me!” Her eyes widened in rage, how could you defend him? “He is one of my soldiers and he just tried to kill me.” 

“He was never one of your soldiers!” Your fists are clenched as you try to control your anger, “you forced him into this!” 

With both of you distracted he raises once more, letting out a pained groan before shooting a small, weaker bolt of fire. You shoot up a wall for the both of you, keeping your gaze trained on your lover. “It’s him or me.” 

Kuvira lets out a growl of anger at your words, loyal earth empire soldiers rush past towards the battlefield, ignoring the lover's quarrel as they shout out commands to one another. “Why are you defending him!?” 

“Because Kuvira what we did back then wasn’t right, because I made a promise to myself to protect them and I will not break it!” Her eyes widen, stumbling back a step. There’s so much going on in her head, she just wants to silence all the anger and confusion that burns within this situation. 

“You freed him?” She asks incredulously, you thickly swallow before nodding.

“I freed all of them.” Your wall begins to crumble, the fire bender has since left, leaving the two of you to stare at one another. “And I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I should have never let you cage them in as you did. You asked me early what I want? I want you to let this war go, I want you to leave them alone and surrender!” 

“I can’t do that!” _Not now_ , not after being attacked, not after seeing that her men are in some sort of danger. Your hands reach up to cup her cheeks, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Yes you can, I know you can Kuvira.” 

She rips herself out of your grasp, suddenly feeling like your touch will poison her. Poison her resolve and burn away all of her control. She needs this war to thrive, she needs it more than air itself. 

A deafening boom is heard from behind her, once more she leaves you behind but this time she feels you hot on her heels as she runs towards the battle. Kuvira vaguely makes out something moving in the air, she squints her eyes to figure out what it is and the object swoops down just a bit to drop down soldiers that aren’t hers. It’s a sky bison she realizes, that must mean Korra is here. 

She sees that one of the people that dropped down is Bolin as he lava bends a circle around him and his team to protect them from her soldiers. He wastes no time as he bends up a chunk of earth and hurls it towards the soldiers, most don’t jump out of the way in time, the force of it knocks them down and causes them to pass out. She hopes they are just passed out. 

The others around him are all different kinds of benders donning makeshift armor under their shaggy and ripped clothes, Kuvira realizes with a stunned expression that it’s the reeducation camp uniforms. Her heart pounds as more of her men fall all around her, the comforting words of your father worm their way into her head as she squeezes her eyes shut. The young dictator stumbles back and pulls at the roots of her hair in frustration, she can’t let this go, can’t give up. 

This is the most in control she’s ever felt, she no longer fears for her life or for her future, it was within reach and exactly what she imagined it to be. With her rule, she thought she erased any chance of reliving her younger years, alone and heartbroken as the longing for someone to hold her ate her up. Suyin’s comforting words never worked, but the sound of her men marching did. 

When Kuvira opens her eyes she sees that more of her men have fallen and Bolin’s group has moved on, she surges forward to eradicate them when your hand wraps around her forearm and pulls her back. She looks over her shoulder with a snarl, not realizing it’s you. 

_“Don’t make me choose between you and my country.”_

_“It shouldn’t be a tough decision, Kuvira.”_

But if she does choose this war, this overabundance of control she will be alone and heartbroken because you will leave her. You made it clear yesterday that you won’t stand by and support this anymore, that you won’t stay by her side if she chooses this path. Your fingers through her hair work too, your soothing words are like a balm to her soul and your smile eases her into this warm state of calmness.

With you, she doesn’t need the marching of her men or the rush she gets when getting someone to sign over their land. You give it to her without a second thought, you give to her because you love her and your love doesn’t come with a price or consequences. 

You tug her to the trunk of a jeep and force her climb onto it. When she stands up on the hunk of metal you grab her cheeks and force her to look at the battle ahead. More and more of her men are falling as air benders use their full force and mecha suits shoot them down. Kuvira then notices the lack of mecha suits on her side and how in the middle of the field there’s a clash of green uniforms going against one another. The field lights up with all forms of bending as each man readily gives their life to her cause. 

“If you surrender your men will be fine! Kuvira be the woman I know you are, stand down!” You pull her eyes away from the scene so she can look at you, look into your eyes that are full of fear and desperation. 

“Bu-” Her heart begins to race, she feels like she may vomit. 

“I need you Kuvira! I need you more than them, so surrender,” you bite your lip. “For us, _please Vira._ ” 

You pull her into a breathtaking kiss that's anything but romantic, your fingers squeeze a bit tighter at her cheeks as you slant your lips against her own, she shakily brings her own hands up to grip your waist in a bruising hold. 

When you pull away, there’s a tear racing down your cheek as you stare into her eyes. “Please.”

“Fine!” She spits out, her throat feels like it’s closing up as her fingers begin to shake. This is everything she’s worked towards for three years, every agonizing day spent pouring herself into documents and threatening governors and mayors into submitting to her will. 

Every kiss she ever gave Baatar, every time she ignored your pleading eyes. 

She’s about to give it all up for you and feels panic scrap through her as if it were wrapped in barbed wire and she doesn’t know what to do, her whole body shakes as she looks around at the mess she created. 

“We need to get to the fro-” Your eyes widen, trained on something behind her. 

“Watch out!” You scream, pushing her out of the way. An icicle bolts through the air, it all seems so slow and yet happens so fast. Kuvira goes stumbling back, barely able to keep herself up, her gaze moved from you during the push so when she hears the sound of you letting out some sort of strangled sound her head whips over to see the icicle lodged in your lower left stomach. Your white shirt begins to turn red as blood spills out. She’s frozen in place as she watches you slowly lift a hand to touch your wound as a pained whimper leaves your lips. 

That terrible noise rips her out of her frozen state and she dashes over to hold you as you begin to fall to your knees. When Kuvira looks over to see where the icicle came from she looks into the wide, terrified eyes of one of the rebels. It’s one of the ones you helped free. 

Before she can even think of all the ways she’s going to kill that woman you croak out _“Vira?”_ Her gaze flickers back to yours, tears are welling up in your eyes and Kuvira feels the warm blood begin to spill onto her hands. 

“I’m gonna save you, gonna find someone to heal you.” Her voice is high pitched and cracking but she doesn’t care. “You are not going to die.” Kuvira looks around for someone to help save you, her one chance at happiness from going up in flames. She feels her vision blur as she desperately turns her head in all directions when it lands on the blue robes of the water benders fighting on Korra’s side. 

_One of them has to be a healer,_ she thinks. “I need to lay you down so I can drive,” you grip at her wrist, your eyes widening at the idea of her letting go of you. “It’s the only way I can save you, I’m so sorry.” 

Suddenly she doesn’t care about anything but you, her fear of losing control has been replaced with the fear of losing you. She can’t lose you, you're the light in her life and without you, she’ll once more be the abandoned, unlovable ward of Suyin.

She quickly leans down to press a firm kiss to your forehead before gently setting you down in the trunk of the car before clumsily jumping into the front seat and turning the key. The jeep roars to life, the only problem is how her pathway is blocked. 

Kuvira stands in her seat and pulls two large walls from the earth, soldiers stumble out of the way as she pushes it through the battlefield, offering a small, clear pathway for her to drive through. She floors it and hears you groaning in the background, causing her to grip the steering wheel harder.

Her hands keep slipping from being soaked in your blood, she fights with all her might to not look down at them, knowing she needs to focus on the road ahead. Her wall ends halfway so with one hand she bends two walls again, it takes a bit longer and these walls are much shorter and less sturdy but it does the trick. 

Suddenly Korra appears at the end of the pathway, her hands once lit with fire extinguish at the frantic look on Kuvira’s face. She makes it to the end of the pathway, Korra jumps out of the way as Kuvira slams her foot on the brakes. The car comes to a screeching halt and without a second to lose Kuvira is scrambling out of the front seat to where she left you. 

Kuvira lets out a loud, strangled sob at the sight before her. Your skin is so pale and there’s so much blood, the floor of the trunk is coated in the deep red and Kuvira bites back a sob. You look up at her, softly saying “Vira?” 

Kuvira’s wet hands go to rest on your cheeks, she looks up at Korra and screams “I need a healer!” Her scream snaps Korra out of her daze and she rushes over to the jeep, when she opens the door of the trunk and sees blood begin to trickle off the edge, her heart drops. 

She’s never met you before but Suyin told her enough to know you're the one who helped them. She climbs into the truck, her brown pants slowly sticking to her skin from the blood. 

The icicle has melted now, leaving in its wake a gaping hole as she summons water from one of the vats they brought for the benders and encases her hands in it. She’s only ever healed herself and it was never something so severe. 

_“Please,”_ Kuvira says to the avatar, her wet words scraping out of her throat as she continues to cry. “Please save her.” Korra nods, keeping her gaze on your wound as her hands begin to glow and hover over the gaping hole.

Neither of them notices how the fight has halted, Kuvira’s soldiers waiting for her to end the avatar due to how close they are. Their leader begins to sob as she desperately holds your neck so she can lift your head and set it on her lap. The metal probably isn’t very comfortable. Your cheeks and neck now have bloody handprints on them as Kuvira repeats like a mantra “You’ll be fine, you’re gonna be fine. I love you so much, you’re gonna live.” 

Korra calls over her shoulder “I need another healer!” Two waterbenders rush over, water already bent around their hands as they climb up to help. All of their hands glow as they hover over your wound, “she’s lost a lot of blood” one of them says to the other.

“Just fix it!” Kuvira demands, her heart dropping at his comment, neither of them acknowledges her as they continue to work on her soulmate, one of your hands weakly grab at her wrist so she’ll look at you, her gaze snaps to yours and she softens in an instant. “Everything’s gonna be okay, my love. Okay?” 

_“Okay,”_ you weakly reply. Kuvira rests her forehead against your own, trying to keep from screaming out. “I love you, Vira.” 

“I love you too, y/n. I love you so much.” She continues to repeat herself, you look up into her eyes with a small, adoring smile. 

It feels like hours go by as they work on you. Whilst the three water tribe members try to save your life, Suyin walks up with a solemn look on her face. “You need to end this, Kuvira.” 

Her eyes pull away from yours to look into those of Suyin’s and she angrily spits out “I don’t care, end it. So long as Y/n lives I don’t care.” Her men at the very front of her army hear her though and all let out differing noises of surprise. “I surrender.” 

Suyin begins to spit out orders on how to arrest her men, she sends the other Beifongs back to Zaofu to clean up Kuvira’s mess whilst everyone else stays on the battlefield to help her arrest and detain the earth empire loyalists. Kuvira places a kiss on your forehead and closes her eyes so she doesn’t have to watch it all be ripped from her, she focuses on your breathing as she tunes out the youngest Beifong sister. 

Every once in a while you groan out in pain and Kuvira’s heart clenches with fear each time. “We’ve done all we can for now,” Korra says softly from behind her. Kuvira looks over her shoulder at the Avatar and sees Suyin walk up to the edge of the trunk with her arms crossed over her chest. “You can send me away to prison once she’s better, just don’t take me away from her just yet.” 

“I made a promise to Y/n and I may not like it but I will stand by it. By ending this war you will be put under house arrest, we need Y/n awake before we can do that though.” Suyin sighs, Kuvira’s gaze shifts to your own at Suyin’s words but she finds them shut. 

Frantically, fearful that you won’t ever wake up, she places two fingers on your pulse. It’s weak, but there. “She’s just sleeping, she’ll need lots of it.” 

“Y/n said she’ll choose the city for herself, for now, we’ll need to cuff you and take the both of you back to Zaofu so she can get the rest she needs.” 

She pulls your body up and into her arms so she can hold you, your head lulls onto her shoulder and you let out a soft groan at the movement. 

She places a kiss on your forehead and closes her eyes as she hears orders being given by the younger Beifong sister. She doesn’t listen, too focused on your breathing to care. She has willingly given up her army for you, and she’d do it again if it means saving your life. 


	7. epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I began to write this I realized what I had was far to long for an epilogue so I've decided that there will be a sequel. It currently has around 15k words and I'm not even close to done so this is gonna be a long ride. This is the epilogue for book one and helps set up the scene for book two.
> 
> If you go to my tumblr (chaoticallywriting) I randomly give out snippets of the sequel and talk about it on there. I also tend to post my fics there a few hours before I do on here. As always thank you @medeliadracon (on tumblr) for beta reading this!

The end of her rule is anticlimactic. It doesn’t end with a victory but instead, with you, limp in her arms with blood all around the two of you. It ends with Suyin ordering some of her men to cuff Kuvira’s soldiers so they can be transported to a prison where they will serve the next two years of their lives. It ends with her defeat as she watches all her hard work wash away like it meant nothing. 

Eighty people, the rebels, come up to Korra to admit you helped free them and how they were fighting on the Avatar’s side the whole time so she spares them. Kuvira looks down at your sleeping form to avoid the varying expressions of her former soldiers, ranging from angry and disappointed.

A few hours later someone closes the trunk and drives them back to Zaofu so you can be admitted to the hospital there. All of Korra’s men head to Zaofu on sky bison. Kuvira sits in the back of the jeep with you, she can’t hold you with her cuffed hands but before they cuffed her she gently placed your head onto her lap. 

Everyone had watched the way Kuvira cared for you with eyes full of shock. She doesn’t care, not anymore. She almost lost you, the idea of appearance and image escaped her mind as all she thinks about is holding you in some way so she knows you're safe. When they pull up to the tram it takes multiple people to help both you and Kuvira out of the trunk. It’s still a bit slippery from your blood and with her cuffed hands she needs someone to help her get down.

The avatar holds you for her as they enter the tram, she wants to break out of these stupid cuffs and rip you out of her arms but she knows she can’t, not if she wants a future with you. So instead Kuvira inches closer so she can at least hold your hand. When it stops in the main dome she sees her men being escorted out by the Zaofu guard. They step out and her eyes find your mom who is decked out in her grand armor, commanding the men below her on where to take Kuvira’s former soldiers. 

When her eyes flicker to the avatar and she sees you limp in her arms she forgets her job and races forward, dropping the staff in her hands. Korra slowly walks down the stairs from the platform so she can take you to the hospital but your mom is waiting at the bottom of the stairs as she holds back a sob. 

“She’s alive,” Kuvira says softly, a little bit of the tension in her leaves, Kuvira’s words comforting her just the slightest. Once Korra is in front of your mom she takes you out of her arms, choking out “Oh baby.” 

“We need to get her to the hospital. She’ll live but she needs to be monitored and will need a few more healing sessions before she can leave,” Korra says. Your mom nods as she begins walking towards the large hospital that’s situated not too far from here. 

Kuvira follows, keeping in step with her so she can at least remain close to you. Once inside Kuvira catches the attention of a nurse who brings out a stretcher for you and carts you off to a room to be further examined, both Kuvira and your mom sit in the waiting room. 

It’s quiet for a while, neither of them talking before finally, your mom asks “what happened?” 

Kuvira’s brows furrow as she tries to make sense of the last few hours, it’s all so blurry and loud in her mind. She just remembers the warmth of your blood on her hands and her screaming out for help, the way her words scratched up her throat as desperation filled her senses. 

“I…” Kuvira starts. “We were talking and the fight started and she tried to show me how I could help by ending it” Kuvira’s hand comes up to her mouth as she begins to cry. Your mother doesn’t move to comfort her, waiting for Kuvira to continue. “It was meant for  _ me _ , she pushed me out of the way so  _ I _ wouldn’t get hurt.” 

Your mother's fists clench and she lets out a deep sigh, trying to control her emotions. “What happened next?” Kuvira looks over at her with a painful expression as she recalls the way you tried to cling to her when she set you down to drive. 

“I drove us to Korra, she had waterbenders so I knew one of them had to be a healer.” 

Your mother nods as she stands up, tears glisten in her eyes as she says “I need to call her father,” before walking away. She’s gone for roughly an hour, Kuvira thinks. In that timespan, she stares down at her hands now caked in dried blood as she tries to make sense of the last twenty-four hours. When you finally wake up,  _ which you will _ , Kuvira reminds herself, she’ll go wherever you want even if that’s the frigid cold of the south pole. 

Finally, your mother returns with your father in tow who pulls both women in a hug. “She’s gonna be okay,” he says, mostly for himself. When he pulls away his face is red as tears race down his chubby cheeks, your mother reaches up to wipe them away for him even though she’s crying as well. 

A nurse walks into the waiting room that only houses the three of them and clears her throat. Everyone twists around to look at her, your father is the one to ask “can we see her?” 

The nurse nods, eyeing them, her eyes narrow when they land on Kuvira before drifting back over to your parents. “Yes, she’s awake but very tired so you’ll probably only get a bit of time with her before she’s asleep again.” 

Your father lets out an excited, wet laugh as he nods vigorously, “Thank you, can you show us to her?” The nurse nods and begins leading everyone up a set of stairs and to the left down a hall lined with doors. The hospital is so white and pristine, Kuvira feels so out of place and looks behind her to make sure she’s not tracking mud around the place. 

When the nurse stops in front of a door labeled 203 that has your name in the place card Kuvira feels her heart speed up, “I’ll wait out here and let you guys have some time alone with her.” Your mother sends her a grateful look before she opens the door, they leave the door open so Kuvira takes a seat next to it so she can at least hear your voice. 

“Hi” she hears you croak out, your voice is raspy and low, you sound so tired. Your father lets out a sob as she hears his feet skid across the floor and a quiet _ “oof”  _ escapes you. 

“Honey, don’t suffocate her, we just got her back,” your mother says in a half-joking manner. The rustling of sheets can be heard as Kuvira can only assume she's hugging you as well. 

“We’re just so relieved you're okay.” 

“I’m okay, just a little banged up,” you say in a reassuring tone.

There’s sniffling and hushed whispers of _ “we love you” _ as all three cries. Kuvira feels like she’s intruding on a private moment but her feet seem stuck to the floor.

Your dad is the one that asks the question burning within her, “You're gonna stay here right? We’ve missed you so much.” 

“Well I don’t know, I haven’t talked to Kuvira yet. I’d like to though.” Kuvira’s heart skips a beat at her name leaving your lips. Spirits for a moment there, back on the jeep, she thought she’d never hear you say it again. “Well she better be okay with it, I mean after all the years spent following her around the earth kingdom one would think you’d get to cho-” 

“Honey,” your father interrupts your mother. She threads her fingers together and squeezes tightly, will she ever gain the respect your mother once had for her back? “Sorry I just… I’ll support you no matter what I’m just a little… peeved.” 

“Is she here?” You say hesitantly, you sound so unsure of yourself that Kuvira wants to take the two steps it’d take to reveal herself. “Suyin didn’t arrest her yet, right?” 

“No, don’t worry she hasn’t been taken away, she just wanted to give us some time alone with you.” A sigh escapes you at your mother's words, “Do you want to see her?” 

Not even a second later you reply “yes.” The shuffling of feet can be heard as they both say their goodbyes and _“I love you”’s_ once more before walking towards the door. Kuvira moves down a seat so it doesn’t look like she was eavesdropping and looks at the platinum cuffs locked tightly over her wrists. 

“She wants to see you,” your father says, Kuvira looks up at him and thickly swallows, slowly nodding. “We’re gonna get her some clean clothes, maybe some food. Are you hungry?” By now the sun is starting to go down, that piece of bread and apple didn’t last too long, as Kuvira is about to say no because she doesn’t want to be an inconvenience. He speaks for her “I’m sure you are, we’ll get you something too.” 

Kuvira opens her mouth to decline but your parents are already walking away arm in arm. She sighs, shoulders slumping. Her wrists are already starting to hurt and she feels anxiety twist around within her as she realizes you’re waiting for her. You're awake and waiting for her and who knows what you’ll say. 

She lets out a deep, shuddering sigh and walks through the door, you look up as you hear her enter and bite your lip. Your cheeks and neck are stained red, it looks like someone wiped away the handprints which is a relief, but your hair is a bit matted with it and your arms are tinted red as well. You look so pale.

You eye her, your shoulders tensing at the disheveled sight of her. “That’s a lot of… red.”

She looks down and sees how her clothes are practically coated in it. “Oh yeah, you bled out a lot.” She clears her throat and looks back up, your shoulders sag a bit, “so none of it’s yours?” Kuvira shakes her head and suddenly you look so relieved. 

She takes a step closer and then another and another when you don’t stop her. You offer her a weak smile as she slowly picks up one of your hands and holds it between hers. “You almost died,” she whispers, scared that if she says it loud enough she’ll speak into existence. 

“But I didn’t,” is your reply. Kuvira scoffs, having to look away as images of you bleeding out all over the trunk resurface. “Hey,” you gently tug on her hand until she looks into your eyes. “I’m alive, thanks to you.” 

“You almost died, thanks to me.” Her voice cracks and she squeezes her eyes shut as tears escape her. “Why would you do that? Why would you take the hit for me?” 

You give her a look of disbelief as you softly reply with a voice full of love that has an edge to it “because I love you, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” 

“No, you won’t.” 

“Yes, I will.” 

“Promise me you won’t, please,” her bottom lip trembles, suddenly her hands feel warm and slick with your blood again. She feels like her legs may give out. _“Please.”_

You shake your head ever so slowly, “I can’t promise you something I won’t keep.” She lets a groan of frustration so you tug her closer until she’s sitting on the edge of your bed, facing you. “If you ever die and there was a way I could have prevented it I’ll spend the rest of my life hating myself. So just… stop putting yourself in danger if you don’t want me to get hurt again.” 

Kuvira is about to offer some kind of retort about how she won’t be in any kind of danger for the foreseeable future due to her house arrest but you squash it by pulling her closer and softly pressing your lips against her own. Kuvira gasps, you slip your tongue in her mouth and caress her tongue before pulling away, you give her a peck on the lips as you're pulling away. 

“If I ask you to stay here in Zaofu, would you?” It’s silent for a few moments as she processes your request. Part of her wants to leave this place and never return, but she knows Zaofu like the back of her hand, she knows where the good tea is, which store has the best produce, which shops rip you off, and where to go to eat for any occasion. 

She thinks of your parents, of how much they missed you and how much you missed them. How she might not have anything that makes her want to stay here, but you do. So she nods and wets her lips before saying, “yes, I will.” 

_ And for a moment that great divide between the two of you seems to cave in as your beautiful face breaks out into a relieved grin.  _


End file.
